Francisco
Garcia, Istoria della conversione alla nostra Santaa Fede dell'Isole
Mariane, Naples, 1686, pl. XV : Martyre du Padre San Vitores by
Mata'pang and Hurao en 1672 à Guam». en:Category:Images of Guam
Bienheureux Didace-Louis
de San Vitores
Martyr aux Iles Mariannes
(+1672)
Diego Luis de San Vitores.
Béatifié le 6 octobre 1985 par Jean-Paul II, Diego de San Vitores est né en Espagne en 1627. Très tôt, une phrase de l'Évangile l'interpelle: «J'ai été envoyé pour évangéliser les pauvres» (Lc 4, 18). Mais, il doit vaincre des résistances pour entrer chez les Jésuites et pour réaliser son idéal missionnaire, notamment de la part de son père dont il est le préféré. Ensuite, ses supérieurs, qui apprécient son talent d'orateur, ne le laissent pas partir de sitôt. Finalement, En 1668, à l'âge de trente-trois ans, il parvient enfin sur son lieu de mission, aux îles Mariannes, lesquelles n'avaient pas encore été évangélisées. Embrassant un genre de vie très pauvre, qui est celui des gens du lieu, les Chamorros, il prêche avec zèle, baptise, construit églises et collèges. Quand la situation devient périlleuse, il ne ralentit pas ses activités missionnaires. Il est tué en 1672 avec son catéchiste, le bienheureux Pedro Calungsod qui a été béatifié le 5 mai 2000 par Jean-Paul II. Pedro est originaire des Philippines, il a 17 ans et, catéchiste, il accompagnait depuis 4 ans les jésuites espagnols lors de l'évangélisation des Chamorros. (source: abbaye Saint Benoît)
21 octobre 2012 - canonisation à Rome de Jacques Berthieu, Pedro Calungsod, Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Maria Carmen Sallés y Barangueras, Marianne Cope, Kateri Tekakwitha, Anna Schäffer - Livret de la célébration avec biographies en plusieurs langues.
Un internaute nous signale que Pedro Calungsod (1654-1672), laïc martyr à Guam, est le patron de la jeunesse philippine.
À Tumhom, village de l'île de Guam en Océanie, l'an 1672, les bienheureux
martyrs Didace-Louis de San Vitores, prêtre de la Compagnie de Jésus, et Pierre
Calungsod, catéchiste, qui furent massacrés sauvagement en haine de la foi par
quelques apostats et des indigènes païens, et précipités dans la mer.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11144/Bienheureux-Didace-Louis-de-San-Vitores.html
Bienheureux Diego Luis de
San Vitores sj 6 octobre : menologe d’Espagne
Martyr, Fête le 6 octobre
Né en 1627 à Burgos d’une
famille noble, Diego Luis entra dans la Compagnie à 13 ans après avoir vaincu
la résistance de son père. Dès son noviciat il se fit remarquer par la ferveur
de sa piété et la vivacité de son esprit. Prêtre en 1651, il se consacra, après
son 3e An, à l’enseignement universitaire et à différentes formes d’apostolat
jusqu’à ce que le Père Général Goswin Nickel lui accorde de partir pour les
missions.
En 1660, il quitta sa
patrie et travailla courageusement pendant deux ans à Mexico en attendant
l’arrivée d’un bateau pour les Philippines. De 1662 à 1666, il exerça les
charges de maître des novices, de préfet des études et de professeur de
théologie, tout en se consacrant avec un grand zèle à l’apostolat auprès des
indigènes. Mais il désirait surtout annoncer le Christ aux habitants des Iles
Mariannes, lesquelles n’avaient encore jamais entendu parler du Christ. Il y
arriva en 1668 après avoir surmonté toutes sortes de difficultés.
Pendant quatre ans il y
partagea les consolations et les croix des missionnaires. En 1672 il fut tué en
haine de la foi au village de Tumon. Jean Paul II l’a béatifié en 1985.
6 octobre
Bienheureux DIEGO LUIS DE
SAN VITORES
prêtre et martyr
Commun d’un martyr (p.
237) ou des pasteurs (p. 260).
OFFICE DES LECTURES
Ménologe de l’Assistance
d’Espagne de la Compagnie de Jésus.
Le bienheureux Diego Luis
de San Vitores fut tué le 2 avril 1672 dans l’île de Guam alors qu’il venait de
baptiser une petite fille mourante : ce martyre lui valut d’être le premier
apôtre des Iles Mariannes. Il y avait construit, en peu d’années, huit maisons
florissantes, fondé trois écoles pour l’éducation des jeunes gens et jeunes
filles, et baptisé de sa main plusieurs milliers d’indigènes.
Le bienheureux Diego
Luis, réalisant les vœux ardents et les promesses de son adolescence, était
venu dans l’île de Guam avec d’autres jésuites et un catéchiste de 14 ans. Pour
encourager ce dernier à le suivre, il lui avait suffi de l’inviter par ces mots
: « Veux-tu venir avec moi dans le pays où tu deviendras martyr du Christ ? »
Il le fut en effet deux jours avant la mort du bienheureux. Celui-ci, ayant
appris suffisamment la langue des habitants de l’île pendant la traversée,
avait commencé son travail missionnaire en annonçant immédiatement Jésus Christ
sur la place publique. Après ce premier discours, un très grand nombre de catéchumènes,
dit-on, se firent instruire dans la doctrine chrétienne. On rapporte qu’il
baptisa tout de suite des petits enfants, pour le salut éternel desquels il
priait et mortifiait quotidiennement son corps, demandant à Dieu de ne pas
mourir avant d’avoir vu ces enfants confirmés dans la foi.
Dieu lui accorda encore
quatre années de vie ; tandis qu’il s’adonnait avec zèle à son œuvre
missionnaire, il fut transpercé d’un coup de lance par un apostat fou de
colère. Il rendit l’âme en implorant calmement la miséricorde de Dieu pour
lui-même et pour son meurtrier. Il avait 45 ans. Le bienheureux Diego Luis, qui
espérait mourir en vivant sa vie sacerdotale dans les missions, réalisait enfin
le vœu qu’il avait lui-même confié autrefois au Père Général Goswin Nickel :
« Depuis mes années
d’enfance dont je puis me souvenir, tout mon désir a été (selon mon âge et
peut-être même en le dépassant) la conversion des infidèles et le martyre.
Ce désir ancré en moi a
grandi de jour en jour, surtout celui de conduire les âmes des infidèles au
Christ, de verser mon sang pour cela, sans que jamais je puisse détourner mon
esprit en un autre sens.
Tel est donc le désir qui
se présentait à moi : verser mon sang pour le nom du Christ et pour le salut
des âmes les plus abandonnées. Toutefois je ne désire pas cela en sorte que je
veuille aller dans les missions pour obtenir la palme du martyre ; mais plutôt
en sorte que, à cause des missions, je ne craigne aucun genre de travail et
même de mort ; je me déclare prêt à quitter non seulement cette vie mais à
abandonner une mort glorieuse, pourvu que je gagne même une seule âme au
Christ. »
(Anon., 1784, Archives
Loyola – S. C. pour les Causes des Saints, Officium Historicum, 94, Déposition
sur la vie et le martyre du Serviteur de Dieu Diego Luis de San Vitores,
Rome, 1981, pp. 90-97).
R/ Je me suis bien battu,
j’ai tenu jusqu’au bout, je suis resté fidèle ;
* je n’ai plus qu’à
recevoir la récompense du vainqueur.
V/ Je considère toute
chose comme une perte en vue de connaître le Christ et de communier aux
souffrances de sa Passion, en reproduisant en moi sa mort.
* Je n’ai plus …
Seigneur notre Dieu, par
le ministère et le martyre du bienheureux Diego Luis, ton prêtre, tu as révélé
à ceux qui ne croyaient pas encore l’Évangile et l’amour du Christ ; par son
intercession accorde-nous d’être des témoins de la vérité et de la charité
évangélique.
2 janvier 2013
SOURCE : https://www.jesuites.com/diego-luis-de-san-vitores-sj/
Blessed Diego Luis San Vitores Portrait
Blessed
Diego Luis de San Vitores-Alonso
Profile
Member of the Jesuits,
joining in 1634. Ordained a priest on 23
December 1651.
He served several years as a teacher in
the Spanish cities
of Toledo, Madrid and Alcalà, but in 1660 was
finally able to moved to missionary work.
He studied in Mexico from 1660 to 1662,
and then was assigned to the Philippines.
After obtaining the proper permissions and funding, he moved on to the island
of Guam in 1668 where
he founded the first Catholic church,
and established the Spanish presence
in the Mariana Islands. Murdered by
a gang of anti–Christian pagans led
by an apostate name
Matapang while trying to save Saint Pedro
Calungsod whom they had already attacked. Martyr.
Born
13
November 1627 in
Burgos, Spain
body dumped into the
ocean
9
November 1984 by Pope John
Paul II (decree of martyrdom)
6
October 1985 by Pope John
Paul II
Additional
Information
other
sites in english
Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores Church
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
en français
fonti
in italiano
Dicastero delle Cause dei Santi
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
nettsteder
i norsk
strony
w jezyku polskim
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Diego Luis de
San Vitores-Alonso“. CatholicSaints.Info. 14 May 2024. Web. 7 December
2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-diego-luis-de-san-vitores-alonso/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-diego-luis-de-san-vitores-alonso/
Blessed Diego Luis de San
Vitores
Established the Christian
presence in the Mariana Islands.
Jesuit Missionary to Guam
(1627-1672)
His life
+ Diego Luis was born to
a noble family in Burgos, Spain. In 1640, he entered the Society of Jesus and
was ordained in 1651.
+ Fulfilling his
long-time dream of being a missionary, Diego Luis was granted permission to
serve in the Philippines. As he was making his way there, the ship carrying him
stopped in Guam and Diego Luis vowed to return there.
+ In 1665, he persuaded
King Philip IV to establish a new mission in Guam. This became a reality in
1668. Diego Luis established the first Catholic church in Guam in 1669.
+ After years of serving
with limited success and the death of a friendly local chief who had supported
the missionaries, members of the Chamorro (an indigenous tribe) rose against
the missionaries who refused the protection of Spanish soldiers.
+ Blessed Diego Luis was
martyred on April 2, 1672. Killed with him was his assistant, a Filipino lay
catechist, Saint Pedro Calungsod. After the murders, the Christian Faith spread
quickly throughout Guam.
+ Blessed Diego Luis was
beatified in 1985. Saint Pedro Calungsod was canonized in 2012 and is also
honored on this day.
Spiritual bonus
The eight days spanning
from Easter Sunday to the Second Sunday of Easter (also known as Divine Mercy
Sunday) are celebrated as the Octave of Easter. Each of these days is
considered a celebration of Easter Day, reminding us that the victory of Christ
over death cannot be limited to a single day of celebration.
Quote
“The Christian is a
missionary of hope. Not by their merit, but thanks to Jesus, the grain of wheat
who, fallen to the earth, died and brought much fruit.”—Pope Francis
Prayer
We humbly beseech the
mercy of your majesty, almighty and merciful God, that, as you have poured the
knowledge of your Only Begotten Son into the hearts of the peoples by the
preaching of the blessed Martyrs Diego Luis and Pedro, so, through their intercession,
we may be made steadfast in the faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman
Missal: Common of Martyrs—For Several Missionary-Martyrs)
Saint profiles prepared
by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
SOURCE : https://aleteia.org/daily-prayer/monday-april-2
Father Diego Luis de San
Vitores
Marianas evangelist
Father Diego Luis de San
Vitores (1627 – 1672), a member of the religious order of the Society of Jesus
(Jesuits), brought Christianity to the CHamoru people in 1668. He was killed on
Guam 2 April 1672 just a little less than four years after his arrival, a death
that he welcomed because he would be considered a martyr in his efforts to
spread Christianity.
In the latter part of the
17th century, as the fervor of the Spanish empire’s expansionism to gain global
and economic power and Christian conversion spread, San Vitores came to Guam
and established the first Catholic Church in the Marianas, altering the social,
cultural and religious landscape of the fifteen-island archipelago.
Throughout his missionary
efforts, the people of Guam and the Mariana Islands took part in events that
transformed their island into the first permanent European Christian settlement
in Oceania. Hagåtña became the first European city after the establishment of
colonial government and hosted the beginnings of a European educational system
on Guam. The CHamorus survived a massive cultural upheaval as many traditional
institutions and cultural practices were eradicated and others adapted to
Catholic institutions and Spanish cultural practices.
One of the earliest
records of contact with the CHamorus of the Mariana Islands and Europeans was
when Ferdinand Magellan’s lost expedition (during its search for the Spice
Islands) berthed off Guam’s shores in 1521. Although, Miguel de Legazpi
wouldn’t claim the island for the Spanish empire for another forty-four years,
the Spanish would have no real interest in the islands until 1668, when San
Vitores’ five-year-long bid to establish a mission in the Marianas was finally
realized.
Early life
San Vitores was the son
of a nobleman. He was born Diego Jeronimo de San Vitores on 12 November 1627 in
the city of Burgos, Spain to Don Jeronimo San Vitores de Portilla
and Dona Maria Alonso Maluenda. Diego Luis de San Vitores entered the
Society of Jesus as a novitiate at the age of thirteen after having overcome
opposition from his parents who wished him to join the military and feared that
there would be no other son to carry on the family name as his brother Miguel
had died at the age of seven. His parents finally conceded, however, to his
wishes and he assured them that they would have several more children.
After becoming a member
of the Society of Jesus, he changed his name to Diego Luis de San Vitores as it
was the custom of the time to take the name of a saint. On 23 December 1651 San
Vitores was ordained a priest in Spain at the age of twenty-four.
Encountering the Chamorus
San Vitores’ first
encounter with the CHamorus was in 1662 while he and other missionaries were in
transit to the Philippines aboard the Spanish galleon San Damian. The ship
made a brief stop at the “Islas de los Ladrones,” or “Islands of Thieves”
as the Marianas were known at the time. (The islands received this unfortunate
name after Magellan’s lost, starved, and scurvy-ridden convoy landed there in
1521 and a dispute over a skiff led to a deadly attack on the CHamorus. Before
the incident occurred, Magellan initially named the islands “Islas de las Velas
Latinas” or the “Islands of Lateen Sails,” for the swiftness, agility and
maneuverability of the proas that the CHamorus navigated.)
As San Damian pulled
into the waters off the island of Guam, San Vitores sighted the CHamorus and
felt a great desire to “bring the light of Christianity” to what he interpreted
to be Godless islanders. He continued on to his mission in the Philippines, but
went to great lengths to find a way to begin a mission in the Marianas. He used
his father’s influence as a member of the Spanish Crown Treasury to get the
support of Queen Maria Ana de Austria for his way to the islands. In 1665,
three years after San Vitores first visited the islands, Spain’s King Philip
IV, issued a royal cedula, or royal decree, ordering the missions to begin
in the islands.
Despite the court’s
endorsement, San Vitores encountered several setbacks from Spanish authorities
in the Philippines and Mexico, which oversaw the funding of overseas expeditions
in the Pacific region. The resistance was presumably because the expense to
bring the missionary to the isolated islands was economically burdensome and
would not yield an economic profit. San Vitores was determined, however, to
reach the islands and was eventually successful.
In June 1668, the patache (or
supply boat) San Diego arrived off the shores of Guam’s primary
village, Hagåtña, carrying San Vitores and other missionaries to begin their
efforts. For her support, San Vitores renamed the archipelago Islas de
Marianas, the Mariana Islands, in honor of Queen Maria Ana. He subsequently
renamed the other islands in honor of Saints; Guam was renamed San Juan.
Conversion efforts
The first CHamoru
baptized was the infant daughter of a CHamoru mother and a Filipino castaway
named Pedro Calungsor who lived in the islands for thirty years after the 1638
shipwreck of the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción off Saipan’s coast.
Calungsor became San Vitores’ lay assistant and translator but later ran away
from him. After Calungsor left San Vitores the priest returned to the
Philippines and found another assistant with, ironically, the same name but who
was about seventeen-years-old. The younger Calungsor is also often referred to
as Calungsod in historical literature.
The first adult CHamoru
baptized was Chief Kepuha (Quipuha) from Hagåtña who gave land for the first
Catholic Church, which San Vitores dedicated as Dolce Nombre de Maria, the
Sweet Name of Mary. It was located near to where the present-day Dulce
Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica stands in Hagåtña.
The CHamorus initially
welcomed San Vitores and the other Catholic missionaries and hundreds were
readily converted. The nobles of the community may have believed this would
elevate their social status while others village chiefs desired priests for
their own village, probably as symbols of status. Some islanders apparently
also received the sacrament of baptism more than once for the gifts of beads
and clothing they were given.
This enthusiasm for
Catholicism did not last long, however, as several factors quickly came into
play including the conflicts it created in the hierarchal caste system of the
CHamorus. The church preached that once baptized, people were equal in the eyes
of God. The missionary’s dogmatic zeal was also not well received as the
Jesuits shunned long-standing traditional beliefs and practices in trying to
assimilate the CHamorus in Christian doctrine. This included the rejection of
the CHamorus long standing veneration of ancestors. As part of the religious
practices of CHamoru culture, people had the skulls of deceased family members
placed in baskets in places of honor in their homes. The CHamorus believed that
this allowed their deceased to have a place to stay and often sought the
guidance of their ancestors and favors from them in their daily endeavors.
The missionaries told the
CHamorus that their ancestors (including parents and grandparents) were burning
in hell because they had not been baptized as Christians. The Christian
missionaries also looked down upon and ordered the burning and destruction
of Guma’ Uritao (men’s houses) because of what was considered
institutionalized prostitution. Boys lived in the Guma’ Uritao after
they reached puberty to learn the life skills they would need as men such as
canoe building, navigating, tool making and fishing. CHamorus believed that
learning about sex was also a valuable skill for youth. The women who taught
the uritaos (bachelors) about sex were not forced to live in
the Guma’ Uritaos, however, and it was considered honorable to become
a ma’ uritao. Men would leave the men’s houses and, usually, remained
married to one woman.
The social and cultural
importance of the Guma’ Uritao was lost to the missionaries who
remained fixated on what they perceived to be sinful acts in the Guma’
Uritao. To counter this form of accepted “cultural education,” San Vitores
created the beginnings of a colonial educational system by establishing
the Colegio San Juan de Letran in 1669, a seminary for boys; and
later a school for girls, Escuela de Ninas.
The tide of discontent
continued with the missionaries’ presence. For whatever reason, profit or
pride, historical documents pinpoint a Chinese man named Choco, who was living
on Guam for about two decades after he was shipwrecked in the Marianas prior to
the missionaries’ arrival, as having been the instigator of rumors that would
have negative ramifications for the missionaries.
Choco was married to a
CHamoru woman from Saipan, and living in the southern village of Pa’a (which
has now disappeared in present-day Guam). Choco came to the Marianas when the
boat he and other Chinese men sailing from the Philippines shipwrecked.
Choco promoted the rumor
that the baptismal water and anointing oils used in religious rites were
killing people, thwarting conversion efforts so much that San Vitores would
eventually end up confronting Choco at Pa’a. The two were locked into in a
days-long public debate about religion with Choco supposedly conceding and even
receiving baptism, but it did not take long for him to renounce Catholicism.
Martyrdom
The murder or San Vitores
and his assistant occurred at the height of a circulation of Choco’s rumors and
festering animosity between the CHamorus and the missionaries. San Vitores and
Pedro Calungsor were killed in Tumon on 2 April 1672 after he baptized the
infant daughter of Chief Mata’pang of Tumon, who was once a Christian convert,
without his consent. Mata’pang believed the baptismal waters would kill her.
When Mata’pang discovered San Vitores’ actions he enlisted a warrior, Hirao, to
kill San Vitores.
Despite San Vitores’
death, evangelization continued even more aggressively at the expense of the
lives of CHamorus and some Spaniards. Defiant CHamorus did not acquiesce to
colonial forces, but were eventually subdued by the colonizers’ advanced
weaponry. Their plans to rid the island of the Spaniards were thwarted, too, by
CHamorus who had chosen Christianity and who defended the Spanish against
attacks.
CHamorus from throughout
Marianas were forced to relocate to Guam and Rota to live in Spanish-style
villages with a Catholic church as a focal point, and forced to abandon
traditional ways of life such as seafaring.
Quest for Sainthood
Today Catholicism is the
leading religion on Guam and throughout the Mariana Islands. There is a
monument in Tumon, near the site of San Vitores’ death, showing the priest
baptizing the chief’s daughter as Mata’pang stands behind him lifting a sword
ready to strike the priest. Hirao is also behind he priest while Mata’pang’s
wife kneels watching her daughter being baptized.
The Catholic Church in
the Marianas, now led by CHamoru priests, has spearheaded efforts to have San
Vitores recognized as a saint. This effort was begun by the first CHamoru
bishop, Felixberto C. Flores, who was later elevated to archbishop. San Vitores
was beatified, along with his assistant Pedro Calangsod, in 1985.
For further reading
Garcia, Francisco,
S.J. The Life and Martyrdom of the Venerable Father Diego Luis de San
Vitores of the Society of Jesus, First Apostle of the Mariana Islands and
Events of These Islands from the Year Sixteen Hundred and Sixty-Eight Through
the Year Sixteen Hundred and Eighty-One. Translated from Spanish by Margaret M.
Higgins, Felicia Plaza and Juan M.H. Ledesma. Edited by James A. McDonough.
Mangilao, GU: University of Guam Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research
Center, 2004.
Hezel, Francis X,
S.J. Journey of Faith: Blessed Diego of the Marianas. [Hagåtña?]:
Guam Atlas Publication, Guam, 1985. Also published as “Diego Luis de San Vitores.” Pacific
Voice, October 6, 1985. Also available online at Micronesian
Seminar (accessed August 4, 2010).
Johnston, Emilie G.,
ed. Father San Vitores: His Life, Times and Martyrdom. MARC Publications
Series 6. Mangilao, GU: University of Guam Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area
Research Center, 1993.
Levesque, Rodrigue, comp.
and ed. Revolts in the Marianas. Vol. 6, History of Micronesia: A
Collection of Source Documents. Gatineau, Quebec: Levesque Publications,
1995.
Risco, Alberto,
S.J. The Apostle of the Marianas: The Life, Labors, and Martyrdom of Ven.
Diego Luis de San Vitores, 1627-1672. Translated by Juan M.H. Ledesma,
S.J. and edited by Msgr. Oscar L. Calvo. Hagåtña: Diocese of Agana, 1970.
SOURCE : https://www.guampedia.com/father-diego-luis-de-san-vitores/
Blessed Diego Luis de San
Vitores, SJ
(1627-1672)
Martyr of the Marianas
Spanish Jesuits were sent
in 1921 to work in the Caroline, Mariana and Marshall Islands as replacements
for the previous German missionaries. They and others worked in the region
until they were imprisoned and eventually executed in 1944. After the war the
mission fell to the care of American Jesuits. The above cinderella showing the
martyrdom of Diego Luis de San Vitores, SJ was issued presumably in the 1920s
or 1930s.
Blessed Diego Luís de San
Vitores (1627–1672) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary who founded the first
Catholic church on the island of Guam. He is responsible for establishing the
Spanish presence in the Mariana Islands. A son of a nobleman, he was baptized
Diégo Jeronimo de San Vitores y Alonso de Maluendo. His parents attempted to
persuade him to pursue a military career, but San Vitores instead chose to
pursue his religious interests. In 1640, he entered the Jesuit novitiate and
was ordained a priest in 1651. Believing his calling was to serve as a
missionary to non-Christians, San Vitores was granted his request and assigned
to a mission in the Philippines.
While in Mexico en route
to Guam, San Vitores had difficulty encouraging the Spanish viceroy to fund his
mission. However, in 1668, Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores set sail from
Acapulco to Guam. San Vitores named the Chamorro archipelago, "Islas
Marianas" (Mariana Islands) in honor of the Queen Regent of Spain, Maria
Ana of Austria, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The missionary landed on Guam in
the village of Hagåtña and was greeted by Chief Kepuha. Kepuha's family donated
land to establish the first Catholic mission on Guam. On February 2, 1669 Padre
San Vitores established the first Catholic church in Hagåtña and dedicated it
to the sweet name of Mary, "Dulce Nombre de Maria." After Chief
Kepuha's death in 1669, Spanish missionary and Chamorro nobility relations
worsened and the Chamorro-Spanish War began in 1671 led by Chief Hurao. After
several attacks on the Spanish mission, a peace was negotiated. Though San
Vitores chose to emulate Saint Francis Xavier, who did not use soldiers in his
missionary efforts in India, as his model priest, he recognized that a military
presence would be necessary to protect the priests serving Guam. In 1672, San
Vitores ordered churches built in four villages, including Merizo. Later that
year, Chamorro resistance increased, led by makahnas and kakahnas (indigenous
priests and priestesses) from the Chamorri (upper caste) who would lose their
leadership position and status under a Roman Catholic mission organization and
male-dominated Spanish society.
The assassination of
Padre San Vitores in 1672 by Mata'pang and Hirao. On 2 April 1672, Mata'pang
and Hirao killed San Vitores and his Visayan assistant, St.
Pedro Calungsod. San Vitores had baptized Mata'pang's newborn daughter
without the chief's permission; Mata'pang's wife consented to the baptism
according to some accounts. Some records state that Mata'pang had believed holy
water used in baptism had caused the recent deaths of babies due to European
diseases.
The death of the Spanish
mission leader led to Spanish army reprisals against Chamorro chiefs who had
decided to defend their homeland from Spanish subjugation. Bounties were
offered for these chiefs' decapitated heads and many were hunted down. Under
Spanish military governors, Chamorros who were anti-Spanish were massacred in their
villages. European plague and warfare eventually contributed to the defeat of
the Chamorros. The Chamorro-Spanish Wars lasted more than 25 years. More
SOURCE : https://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/1_SanVitores.htm
Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores (1627-1672)
Author: Francisco Garcia, S.J.
Authored on: 9/30/1999
Of the Life and Martyrdom of the Venerable Padre Diego Luis de Sanvitores of the Society of Jesus, First Apostle of the Mariana Islands
CHAPTER I
The Nature of the Islas Marianas, Temperament and Customs of Their Natives.
The islands called formerly de Los Ladrones and de Las Velas Latinas whose name has now fortunately been changed through Religion into Las Marianas, are innumerable and run from north to south, from Japan to Peru. The thirteen discovered and illumined by the Gospel, are the only ones of which I wish to speak, from the information which the ministers of the Gospel (missionaries) have given. They have traveled over them many times, correcting the information of the older voyagers who saw them only from a distance or in great haste. They are situated in longitude 164 degrees from La Palma, Canary Islands and three hundred leagues nearer than Manila on the voyage from New Spain to the Philippines, 13 degrees latitude boreal from Muag which is 22 degrees and is the nearest one to Japan that has yet been discovered in the small boats that the missionaries have had thus far. From the charts and letters it is a matter of six days journey from japan. These thirteen islands are in their position so Marian that starting from the southwest to Northwest they form a crescent, a very appropriate throne for the feet of Mary and a symbol of the protection of this Sovereign Queen, in spite of Mahoma who has united to his crescent many of the islands of this archipelago.
Their names, not as they
are confused in some histories but as they were written by Padre Sanvitores who
changed the names into sacred ones, since he wished to make even the land
itself Christian, are in order (from the south to the north) as follows: Guam,
which he called San Juan; Arpana, which he called Santa Ana; Aquiguan, renamed
the Holy Angel; Tinian called Buenavista Mariana; Saipan, Saint Joseph;
Anatajan, St. Joaquin; Sariguan, St. Charles; Guguan, St. Philip; Alamagan, La
Concepcion; Pagon, St. Ignatius; Agrigan, St. Francis Xavier; Asanson, la
Asuncion; and Maug, San Lorenzo. The largest are Guam, which is 35 leagues
square and Aguigan which is fifty. The latter is more fertile and pleasant than
the others. The islands are not far apart, the farthest only a day's journey
from another. They have commerce and use the same language, a rare thing among
gentiles who are not subject to one dominion.
The climate is healthful and benign, although the last islands (northern) are
cooler than the first and in none is the cold or heat excessive. They do not
suffer the terrible earthquakes that are known in other islands of the
archipelago. The land is mountainous and has great marshes, always covered with
a spiny growth, with many trees but none of those of Europe. The most noticeable
tree is the one they call in their language "Maria" (Palo Maria) of
which they construct their houses and boats. Under the title of
"Maria," a harbinger of happiness and of the good tidings which would
be theirs through this name(?). The islands have many rivers of fresh
water, and on the Island of Guam there are more than thirty. No alligators
are found, nor snakes, nor other poisonous animals. There are fish in the
rivers, especially eels, but for some superstition, they do not catch
them. On the land there are not found other animals than cats and dogs which
are believed to have remained here from the galleon Concepcion when it was
wrecked in these islands. In the air are seen birds that resemble turtle doves.
The islanders do not eat them, but keep them in cages and teach them to
speak. Thus far no mines of silver or gold have been found nor anything of
value. That which is most valuable among the natives is iron, for
which they trade with the Spanish ships, exchanging the poor products of their
soil also tortoise shells, and whoever has the most iron is the most powerful.
Nature is parsimonious with these people, and they are content with so
little. Certainly a lesson for those who seek after material things to satisfy
their insatiable thirst and hunger. It goes to show that very little
suffices him who does not seek what is extra and nothing is extra to him who is
not content with only the necessary. The islands have many ports where
ships can anchor, some of them very suitable for the ships that come from New
Spain as well as those from the Philippines, unless contrary winds make
entrance impossible which the Servant of God believes is the work of demons
because of their fear of losing to the Faith their long held dominion
over these Islands. Now we are confident that the Star of the Sea will
appease the winds since the Marinas are under Her protection as well as under
her title.
In the Island of San Juan there are seven ports; that of San Antonio which is
in the western part, across from a town which the natives call Hati, in which
port there are two good rivers from which to obtain water. Another port, which was vented
by the Dutch for some three months during past years, careening their ships, in
half a league from the point that divides the inlet of San Antonio from the southern
part and faces a village, called in their language, Humatag. It has a good
river where the Dutch obtained water. Proceeding on this side from the south, there is found a
third port three leagues distant, at a village called Habadisan. It has some
shelter from the west and more from the north, but lacks a river. Traveling three leagues to
the eastward two bays are found, separated by a point of land, where there are
two rivers. The first bay faces a village called Pipug, and the second more to the
east, faces a village called Irig. it is well sheltered from the west and has
sufficient protection also from other winds. Leaving the port of San Antonio which we
mentioned before, and proceeding along the coast on the north within the
distance of a musket shot there is another port at a village called Tarogrichan, with rivers
of good water, which has on both sides, the same shelter from the winds as San
Antonio. Continuing more to the north, near the town of San Ignacion de Agadna, where
now are located the principal church and house of the Padres of the society in
front of a reef which faces West-Northwest at a distance of a shot of an arguebus from
said reef, there is found a very good sandy anchorage and land for the length
of 18 brazas and at a distance of two musket shots from the reef the depth is of 10
brazas and going in further at a distance of a shot of an arguebus from land
the depth of the water is of 22 brazas. It has a good river which flows into the center of
the bay. It is protected from all winds and appears to be the best port and
most appropriate of the island of San Juan. On the Island of Zarpana or Santa Ana,
which the natives call Rota, or Luta, there is a port in which the Dutch
anchored the three ships mentioned above. It faces a settlement called Socanrago and San
Pedro, and looks towards the north-east. One league to the south there is
another port with good depth and protection from all winds. On the island of Saypan there is
a good port, whose entrance faces the east, and is protected by the principal
point of the island, which looks to the southeast. The port is near a village which is
called Raurau. In the islands farther north, called Pani, and Los Volcanes. It
is said that there are good ports, especially one on the western part of Agrigan, a distance
of some fifteen leagues beyond Los Volcanes, which is said to be a suitable
anchorage for ships coming from Manila. All these ports nature has opened in these
islands in order that the Faith might enter if people would enter through a
port other than that of their own interest. Whence came the people of these islands is only surmised
but is not known. Padre Colin in his India Sacra, believes that they came from
Japan and he makes this seem credible because of their nearness to Japan, the
similarity of the people in many ways, expecially in the high regard they have
for the nobility, in spite of their own poverty. they have preserved in their memorized history
which is confused with many fables a belief that they came from the south or
west. The similarity of their skins and of their language, coloring, the teeth, and their
mode of governing, or lack of it, makes one suspect that they may have the same
origin as the Bisayos of Tagalogs. There are some inhabitants who would trace their
history to the Egyptians, according to the reference of Gomara, in his Historia
de las Indias as Magellan learned when he came to these islands in 1521. When or how the
first people came here is still unknown. It must have been a storm that spared
their lives but drove them to a sterile land. The number of inhabitants is large. In Guam
alone there are fifty thousand, on other island forty thousand, and less on
others, divided among the town and villages, along the beaches, usually in groups of fifty, sixty
or even a hundred and fifty houses. In the mountains there are from six to ten
or twenty in a group. The houses are the cleanest that have yet been found among Indios;
built of coconut and palo Maria. the walls and the ceiling made in the style of
a vault are curiously woven of coconut leaves. They have four rooms, with doors, and
curtains of the same matting. one serves as sleeping room, another for storing
food, one as kitchen, and the fourth is large enough in which to build and store
boats. The Marianos are in color a somewhat lighter shade than the Filipinos,
larger in stature, more corpulent and robust than Europeans, pleasant and with agreeable
faces. They are so fat they appear swollen. The women wear long hair and in
various ways they bleach it white. They color their teeth black, believing this is a
great adornment to their beauty. The men do not wear long hair, but shave their
head leaving only a small topknot on the crown, about the length of a finger. They remain in
good health to an advanced age and it is very usual to live ninety or one
hundred years, and among those who were baptized during the first year of the Mission, there
were more than a hundred twenty persons who were more than one hundred years
old. It may be due to their robustness, being accustomed to certain distempers from
the cradle, or for the uniformity and natural condition of their food, or
because of exercise and not too much anxiety, and for the lack of vices and worries, which
are roses with thorns, which flattering and then grieving men, finish them off.
Perhaps all together contribute to the prolonged age of the Islanders. Since they have
few ailments they know few medicines, and treat themselves with a few herbs, of
which experience and necessity have taught them the uses and virtues. Their costume
is that of a state of innocence although with the vices which sin brings about,
but fewer than their nudity and barbarity would promise. Only the women cover as much as
modesty requires with an apron called tifis. They live during four months of
the year on products of the ground, coconuts, which are abundant, bananas, sugar cane,
and fish. the remainder of the year they supplement the lack of fruits with
certain roots similar to sweet potato. The little rice which is grown they save for festines.
They practice no excess in eating: they have no wine or other intoxicating
liquor which as been a great impediment for the Faith in other countries. Their drink is water
and thus their commonest ailment is dropsy. Their occupation is the cultivation
of coconut groves and banana trees, the care of crops, and sea fishing. As they are
accustomed to this from childhood, they appear more like fish than men. Their
boats are very light, small and pretty, painted with a kind of bitumen which colors the hills
of Guam red. It is mixed with lime and coconut oil, and beautifies their boats
greatly. their language is easy to pronounce and to understand, especially for anyone who
knows Tagalog or Bisayan. It is reduced to a few rules and much freedom is
permitted in variety of vowels and consonants in a single word. This within the same island
and within the same town; it causes embarrassment to those who are beginners
since the difference of tense is very small. It is an elegance of style to place the
noun before the adjective. Thus they called Padre Sanvitores from the time he
arrived in the islands Padre Maagas which means Grande Padre. They practice many courtesies,
and an ordinary usage, on meeting and on passing in front of another, is Ati Arinmo which means: "Give me permission to kiss your feet." And if
one passes by a house they ask him if he will remain to eat, and they bring out
buyo (Betel nut) which is a plant they like very much, and keep in the mouth, like tobacco. To
pass the hand over the breast of the person one visits is considered a great
courtesy.
They rarely expectorate, and do so with great modesty and never near the house
of another, nor in the morning, in which there appears to be some superstition,
I do not know what. It is unnecessary to ask if they know any letters, sciences or
arts, those who are ignorant even of the elements, and did not know of the
existence of fire in the world until they saw it lighted by Spaniards who survived the
shipwreck in 1638. For all this, they admire poetry and believe poets to be men
who perform wonders. We wonder at times how such great ignorance goes hand in hand with
their great conceitedness through which they think themselves the wisest and
most talented of the world and despise all other nations as compared to themselves.
Their barbarity is not in keeping with the great esteem which they have for
their nobility and their observance and discretion of lineage, high, low and
middle class, which would seem to point to an origin in some civilized nation. It is seen how
pride banished from heaven, lives in all parts of the earth, among clothed
people, and the unclad alike. For nothing in the world would one of their chiefs, called
Chamorris, marry the daughter of a commoner, even if she were very rich and he
very poor as is said of the Japanese. Formerly, parents of the nobility killed sons who
married daughters of plebeian families whether it be for love or for riches. In
order to maintain their family status with splendor, the first born inherits large
estates of coconuts, bananas, as well as other choice properties and it is not
the son of the
defunct who inherits his father's estate but rather the brother or nephew of
the defunct. The heir now changes his name and takes the name of the founder or
chief ancestor of the family. Those of low station are not permitted to eat or drink
in the houses of the nobles, or even to go near them. If they need anything
they ask for it from a distance. These customs exist principally in the town of Agadna, where
through the goodness of the water and other conditions which in this location
are better than elsewhere, the Principals who came from Japan or from elsewhere gathered.
All the inhabitants of the island fear and respect the chiefs of Agadna. There
are in this settlement fifty three principal houses. As for the rest up to one hundred
and fifty are on separate grounds because they are of low people and would be
given no part in the affairs of the town or the court. The nature and temperament,
although at first seemed harmless and nude of deceit, as they were of clothing,
gained in Europe great praises of the Padres of the Society and of the first Spaniards
who dealt with them and allowed themselves to be persuaded by the
demonstrations of kindness and hospitality which they saw in them. Later it has been known to be
deceitful, double and treacherous, because they conceal with contrary words and appearances one or two years the feeling of offense which they received until
they find the opportunity for vengeance and they never heed promise to do nor
not to do whatever seem but to them. They are warriors of the most barbarous, easily
disturbed, and easily appeased, hesitant to attack, and prompt to flee. As one
town gets
ready to go against another with great shouts, but without a leader without
order or discipline they are wont to be two or three days in a campaign without
attacking, each observing the movements of the other; and when they arrive at the moment
of battle they arrange the peace very soon, because on falling dead two or
three on one side, it gives itself up as defeated, and sends ambassadors to the other,
with the tortoise shells which are the sign or surrender. The victors celebrate
the triumph with satiric songs, in which they exaggerate their valor, and make fun of the
conquered. The arms which they use are stones and lances in place or irons with
long hewn human bones. These are made of three or four shark tines which puncturing
easily the flesh, break off and some of the points remain inside the flesh
causing certain death. No remedy for this poison has been found although it was tried
later in Mexico by a team of doctors. They use these arms from childhood and
are very skillful in handling them; moreover, they can throw stones from a sling with
such dexterity and strength that they are able to drive them into the trunk of
a tree. They do not use the bow, nor arrow, nor sword; they have only some cutlasses and knives
acquired from our ships in exchange for their products. They have never used
the shield nor any other defensive arm, depending only on the swiftness of their
movements to prevent being injured and escape the blows of the adversary. They
are by nature jokesters (buffoons) enjoying fun and fiesta. The men get together to
dance, to play with lances, to run, leap, wrestle and to test in various ways
their strength, and amid these entertainments they retell with great laughter their stories or
fables, and a drink composed of gruel, rice and grated coconut. The women have
their own fiestas, in which they decorate themselves with wreaths on their foreheads,
sometimes of flowers resembling jasmine, sometimes of alvalorios and tortoise
shell, pendants of beads made from small pink shells which they value as much as we do
pearls. They also make belts of them with which they gird themselves, adding pendants all around of small coconuts over some skirts of strands of the roots
of trees, with which they finish off their regalia and finery, which looks more
like a cage than a dress. Twelve or thirteen get together and make a circle, without moving
from one spot, they sing in verse their histories and ancient things with
measured time and harmony of three voices: soprano, contraltos, and falsettos, with the
occasional tenor assistance of one of the Principals who attend these fiestas.
The movements of the hands accompany the voices, so that with the right they go along forming
half moons, and in the left some small boxes of little shells, which serve them
as castanets. This is in such perfect time and so well done that it causes no
little admiration to see the liveliness with which they learn the things to
which they apply themselves. Of their customs I shall not omit saying that although they were
given the name of Ladrones because of some little stealth of iron, which they
must have done on our ships, they do not deserve it, for all the houses being open,
rarely is anything missing from them. The young men, who are called Urritaos
are very indecent and live in public houses with the unmarried women, whom they buy or
rent from their parents for two or three hoops of iron, and some number of
tortoise shells. This does not hinder them from marrying later. The married ones
ordinarily content themselves with one woman and do not disturb the others.
They abhor assassins; and because of this they did not honor as they usually did, some of
the villages of the island of Saipan, because they have found them for several
years back cruel, and very inclined to make lances. They are liberal and kind to visitors,
as has been experienced byour ships upon passing through their lands, and much
more by those who landed there, thrown up by the shipwreck of the Concepcion. In
conclusion, although their customs generally are like those of blind people,
they are not so barbaric, as are their barbarisms, and like that of other nations.
CHAPTER II
Their Religion and Government
Of their religion and government, I do not know what to say: but I shall say
they are people without God, without a king, without law, and without any kind
of civil police. Neither the islands together, nor the villages in particular, have
heads which govern the others; only the Principals like sovereign princes
forming in each village a kind of republic, in which opinions are exchanged, but each one does as he wishes
if no stronger man prevents it. In each family the head is the father or elder relative but with limited influence. A son as he grows up neither fears nor
respects his father, as the animals do, he has but a place to go where they
feed him. In the home it is the woman who rules and her husband does not dare give an order
contrary to her wishes, nor punish the children, because if the woman feels
offended,
she will either beat the husband or leave him. Then if the wife leaves the
house all the children go with her, knowing no other father than the next
husband their mother may select.
They have no laws whatever. Individual choice governs the behavior of each one.
Transgressions are punished by war if they are of the crowd; by hatred if they
are of the individual. Nevertheless, any custom long in use has the enforcement of a
law. They do not have many wives nor do they marry relatives, if one call
marriage that which might better be called concubinage for its lack of perpetuity, for they
may separate and take another husband or wife at any trifling quarrel. However
if a man abandons his wife it costs him a great deal, for he loses both his property and
his children. Women can leave their men without inconvenience, and do so
frequently through jealousy and suspecting their husbands of disloyalty, punish them in
many ways. Sometimes the woman calls a meeting of all the women of the village,
who wearing hats and armed with spears and lances, go to the house of the
adulterer, and if he has growing crops, they destroy them. They make him come
out of the house and threaten to run him through with their lances, at last driving him
away. At other times the offended wife punished her husband by leaving him.
Then her relatives go to the husband's house and carry away everything of value, not
even leaving him a spear or a mat on which to sleep. They leave nothing more
than the mere shell of the house and sometimes they destroy even that. If a woman is
untrue to her husband the latter may kill her lover, but the woman receives no punishment.
Their belief is, like their government, full of errors and blindness. They were
of the opinion that they were the only people in the world and that there was
no other land than their own. But after they had seen our ships passing and those of the
Dutch, they were convinced that there must be many other lands and other races.
From this they fell into another error, incorporating in their traditions the belief that
all other lands and other men sprung from a single bit of land, which was the
island of Guam, and that it was at first a man, then it became stone and from it issued all
mankind, and from Guam men were over the earth, to Spain and other countries.
They add that as the people went away from the country of their origin, they forgot
their mother tongue, and that people of other nations now know no language at
all but jabber like lunatics, not even understanding each other. They contend that all people
other than themselves are ignorant since their language makes no sense. They affirm
that our ships, in passing their territory brought rats, flies, mosquitoes and all
kinds of infirmities. And they prove their statements about diseases, because
after ships have been in their islands they all have colds and other attacks; but the reason is
being that eager as they are for iron and other things, while the ships are in
port they never
leave the shore, staying out day and night, in the sun or in inclement weather.
They are continually shouting, which makes them return home hoarse and with
other ailments.
Regarding the creation of the world, they say that Puntan (who must have been
the first man, driven by a storm was cast up on this island), was a very
ingenious man who lived many years in an imaginary place which existed before
earth and sky were made. This good man being about to die, taking pity on
mankind who would be left without a place in which to live and without sustenance, called his sister
who, like himself, had been born without father or mother. Making known to her
the benefit he wished to confer to mankind, he gave her all his powers so that
when he died she could create from his breast and back the earth and sky; from
his eyes the sun and moon, a rainbow from his eyebrows, and thus adjust
everything else not without some balance between the lesser and the greater in
the world as the poets do. Only that in this case it did not remain as mere
symbolic poetry but became for them scripture and gospel. This they sung in
their poor verses and they know it by heart, but with all this, there is no one who renders Puntan or his
sister any worship or visible ceremony, invocation or recourse that would
indicate that they are recognized as divinities. These and other old tales they sing at their
feasts, those who are the best singers gambling on who can sing the most
verses. They recognize immortality of the soul, and speak of hell and of a paradise, to
which go the souls of men for no other merit nor demerit that that of whether
they have died a natural or a violent death. Those who die of violence they
say, go to the inferno or zazarraguan, or the house of Chayfi, who is the
devil, and has a cauldron in which he cooks them, stirring them continually.
Those who die a natural death go to another place under the earth, which is
their paradise, where there are bananas, coconuts, sugar cane and other fruits of the earth. There is not found among
them either sect or shadow of religion, nor priests of any kind. there are only
some impostors who set themselves up as prophets, called Macanas, who promise
health, water, fish, and similar benefits by invoking the dead whose skulls
they keep in their houses with no altar, niche, or ornament except a basket in which they
are left about the house, forgotten until the time comes when the Macanas want
to ask for some favor. But recently, I believe because of an idolatrous Chinese
lady who was cast up here in a storm, and of whom we shall speak later on, some
have now a kind of veneration for the skulls and bones of the defunct, and they carve and
paint them on the bark of the trees and blocks of wood. The Macanas, like all
the Bonzos or priests of India, look out for their own interests of the living in
the invocation of the dead, of whom they know and almost all know, nothing can
be expected; and if they invoke the dead honestly it is not to obtain favors but
to placate them so they will do them no harm. Because the devil, in order to
maintain this respect and servile fear, is accustomed to appear to them in the forms of their
parents and ancestors to frighten and mistreat them. This is the most that
Satan has been able to do to these poor Marianos. There are no temples nor
sacrifices, no idols or profession of any sect whatever, a thing that will
facilitate greatly the introduction of the Faith, for it is easier to introduce
a religion where there is none than to cast one out in order to introduce
another. With all this, the Marianos have certain superstitions, especially
when they are fishing, at which time they observe silence and great abstinence,
either for fear of, or to flatter, the Anites, which are the souls of their
grandparents so they will not punish them by keeping the fish away or by
frightening them in their dreams of which they are very credulous. some, when a
man is about to die, place a basket at this head as if inviting him to remain
with them in the basket instead of the body he has inhabited, and to show him
that he will have a place to stay whenever he returns from the other world to
pay them a visit. Others, after anointing a corpse with fragrant oil, carry it
about to the homes of relatives, in order that the soul may remain in whichever
house it chooses, or that it may, when it returns to visit them, find refuge in
the house of its choice. Then demonstrations of grief at funerals are very
singular, many tears, fasting and a great sounding of shells. Weeping
customarily continues for six or eight days, according to their affections or
obligation towards the departed. They spend this time singing lugubrious songs,
giving parties around the catafalque crested on the sepulcher or next to it,
adorned with flowers, palms, shells and other things they consider suitable.
The mother of the dead man cuts off a lock of his hair and keeps it as a
memento, and counts the days after his death by tying a knot each night in a
cord which she wears around her neck. Their demonstrations are much greater
when one of their Principals or Chamorris dies.....
THE LIFE AND MARTYRDOM OF THE VENERABLE FATHER DIEGO LUIS DE SANVITORES
by Francisco Garcia, S.J.
Translation by
FELICIA PLAZA, M.M.B.
Micronesian Area Research Center, U.O.G. 1980
BOOK III
Blessed Diego Luis de San
Vitores Church
884 Pale San Vitores Road
Tumon Bay, Guam USA 96911-4013
Beato Diego Luis de San Vitores Gesuita, martire
nelle Marianne
Burgos, Spagna, 12 novembre 1627 - Tomhom, Guam
(Marianne), 2 aprile 1672
Martirologio Romano: Nel villaggio di Tomhom
nell’isola di Guam in Oceania, beati martiri Diego Luigi de San Vitores,
sacerdote della Compagnia di Gesù, e Pietro Calungsod, catechista, uccisi
crudelmente in odio alla fede cristiana e precipitati in mare da alcuni
apostati e da alcuni indigeni seguaci di superstizioni pagane.
È considerato l’Apostolo delle Isole Marianne,
nell’Oceano Pacifico. Padre Diego Luis nacque nella nobile famiglia de San
Vitores, a Burgos in Spagna il 12 novembre 1627.
Per gli alti incarichi affidati dalla corte al padre
di Diego, la sua famiglia si trasferì a Madrid nel 1631, poi a Guadix (Granada)
nel 1635 e di nuovo a Madrid nel 1638. Frequentò il Collegio dei Gesuiti di
Madrid e giovanissimo entrò come novizio nella Compagnia di Gesù a Villarejo de
Fuentes; nel 1634 a 17 anni emise i primi voti; fino al 1650 compì gli studi di
filosofia e di teologia, venendo ordinato sacerdote il 23 dicembre 1651.
Fino al 1660 fu insegnante a Oropesa (Toledo), Madrid
e Alcalà e in quell’anno finalmente poté realizzare il sogno della giovinezza e
partire per le missioni, aveva 33 anni e così fu destinato, non in Cina come
desiderava, ma alle Filippine, dove giunse via Messico, solo nel 1662.
In Messico stazionò per due anni dal 1660 al 1662,
conquistandosi la stima dei confratelli missionari, rammaricati per la sua
partenza da Acapulco; fu durante il viaggio marittimo dal Messico alle
Filippine, che Diego ebbe un primo contatto con le Isole Marianne, allora
chiamate Ladroni, nome messo da Magellano che le scoprì nel 1521; rendendosi
conto che l’arcipelago non conosceva ancora l’evangelizzazione.
Perciò scrisse sia a Roma che in Spagna, a cui
appartenevano, sollecitando l’invio di missionari nelle Isole e a Guam
capoluogo, offrendo sé stesso per tale scopo. Il 10 luglio 1662 giunse al porto
di Lampong nelle Filippine da dove proseguì, via terra per Manila.
Fino al 1667 svolse la sua missione sacerdotale nella
Comunità di Taytay e poi come prefetto degli studi nel collegio di Manila. Nel
1665 giunse la disposizione del re di Spagna al governatore delle Filippine, di
provvedere per un’imbarcazione al missionario e il 7 agosto 1667 padre Diego
Luis de San Vitores, poté salpare non per le Marianne, ma per il Messico,
diretto dal viceré di Spagna, che avrebbe dovuto fornirgli il materiale ed i
mezzi necessari per avviare la missione, perché il governatore delle Filippine
non aveva denaro per lo scopo.
Dopo tre mesi di sosta in Messico per raccogliere i
fondi, il 23 marzo 1668 salpò per le Marianne, dove giunse nell’isola di Guam
il 16 giugno 1668, accompagnato da un gruppo di confratelli gesuiti.
L’opera di evangelizzazione si propagò fra alti e
bassi in tutto l’arcipelago, le conversioni affluirono numerose, nel contempo
si ergeva una opposizione alla loro opera, da parte di un guaritore cinese, un
certo Cocho, che sobillava gli indigeni cristiani, dicendo che l’acqua del
battesimo era avvelenata e perciò i bambini morivano; in realtà alcuni bambini
già gravemente ammalati erano stati battezzati e poi erano morti.
Ma questo bastò perché molti che si erano convertiti,
si rivoltassero contro i missionari, diventando loro nemici. L’evangelizzazione
delle Isole Ladroni poi Marianne, da parte di padre Diego, durò quattro anni,
con frequenti spostamenti da un’isola all’altra per sostenere i suoi
confratelli e con generosa dedizione alla gente dell’arcipelago.
Accompagnato dal giovane catechista filippino Pedro
Calungsod, il 2 aprile 1672 si recò al villaggio di Tomhom nell’isola di Guam e
avendo saputo che era nata una bambina al cristiano poi rinnegato, di nome
Matapang, cercò di convincerlo a battezzarla, l’uomo reagì con violenza,
rifiutò e recandosi al villaggio, cercò l’aiuto di un certo Hirao per
ucciderli; anche quest’ultimo era un beneficiario della bontà dei missionari e
in un primo momento rifiutò.
Nel frattempo, con il consenso della madre, padre
Diego battezzò la bambina; avendolo saputo, si scatenò l’ira di Matapang che
lanciò varie frecce, finché colpì al petto il giovane catechista Pedro, padre
Diego accorse per dargli l’assoluzione, nel frattempo sopraggiunse Hirao che
con un colpo alla testa finì il giovane e con la lancia uccise poi padre Diego.
I loro corpi spogliati e caricati su una barca, furono
gettati nell’Oceano. Primi martiri e apostoli delle Marianne. Padre Diego Luis
de San Vitores è stato beatificato il 6 ottobre 1985 da papa Giovanni Paolo II,
il quale ha poi beatificato Pedro Calungsod Bissaja il 5 marzo 2002. - Festa
liturgica per entrambi al 2 aprile.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO
II
Domenica, 6 ottobre 1985
1. “Ecco, sto alla porta
e busso” (Ap 3, 20).
Gesù Cristo, “il
testimone fedele e verace, il principio della creazione di Dio” (Ap 3, 14)
sta alla porta e bussa.
Gesù Cristo, colui
che il Padre, ha consacrato con l’unzione e ho mandato a portare il lieto
annunzio, a fasciare le piaghe dei cuori spezzati, a proclamare la libertà . .
.” (Is 61, 1).
Gesù Cristo, il
vero chicco di grano che, caduto in terra, è morto e produce molto
frutto (cf. Gv 12, 24).
Oggi anche noi siamo
chiamati a essere testimoni di questo frutto.
2. Gesù Cristo. Tutte le
letture dell’odierna liturgia parlano direttamente di lui, della sua persona e
del suo mistero.
Ecco, egli si è fermato
alla porta di quell’uomo, il cui nome era Ignazio di Loyola, e ha bussato
al suo cuore. Tutti ricordiamo quel bussare. La sua eco continua a risuonare
tuttora nella Chiesa diffusa nei cinque continenti.
Gesù Cristo, il testimone
fedele e verace. Un frutto di questa testimonianza fu l’uomo
nuovo nella storia di Ignazio di Loyola. E, in seguito, fu una grande
comunità nuova, la “Societas Iesu”, la Compagnia di Gesù.
Oggi siamo invitati a
ricordare i frutti dati da questa comunità nel corso di oltre quattro
secoli; con le opere nel campo dell’apostolato, delle missioni, della scienza,
dell’educazione, della pastorale.
Soprattutto i frutti
dovuti alla santità della vita dei figli spirituali del Santo di Loyola.
Oggi tra coloro che la
Chiesa ha elevato alla gloria degli altari, vengono aggiunti i tre servi
di Dio: Diego Luis de San Vitores, José María Rubio y Peralta e Francisco
Gárate.
3. I tre nuovi beati
nacquero in Spagna, nazione che tanto si è distinta nella diffusione del
Vangelo oltre che per la vitalità della sua fede cattolica.
Diverse diocesi e città
si onorano di avere dei vincoli con questi eletti del Signore: Burgos è la
città natale di padre San Vitores, l’evangelizzatore delle Isole Marianne;
padre Rubio nacque a Dalias (Almería) ed esercitò il suo apostolato soprattutto
nella capitale spagnola, restando noto come “l’apostolo di Madrid”; fratello
Gárate è originario di un villaggio nelle immediate vicinanze della città di
Loyola, parrocchia di Azpeitia (Guipúzcoa) e trascorse la maggior parte della
sua vita a Deusto (Bilbao).
Qual è il messaggio di
questi tre beati all’uomo d’oggi?
Se pensiamo ai principi
più profondi delle loro vite vediamo che questi tre modelli di santità sono
come uniti da un elemento comune: l’apertura totale e generosa a Dio che
dice loro: “Ecco, io sto alla porta e busso: se uno sente la mia voce e mi
apre, io entrerò da lui e cenerò con lui, e lui con me” (Ap 3, 20).
“Apriamo la nostra porta per riceverlo quando, sentendo la sua voce, diamo
liberamente il nostro assenso ai suoi inviti manifesti o velati e applichiamoci
con impegno ai compiti che egli ci confida” (Venerabile Beda, Omelia 21).
Effettivamente la
risposta dei tre beati subitanea e generosa alla chiamata di Dio unisce aspetti
diversi, ma allo stesso tempo complementari, della loro vocazione religiosa
vissuta come membri della Compagnia di Gesù.
4. Diego Luis de San
Vitores Alonso, ancora molto giovane, sente interiormente una voce che lo
attrae e insieme lo muove. Si sente attratto da Cristo, l’eterno inviato dal
Padre per salvare gli uomini, che lo spinge ad andare in terre lontane come
strumento della sua missione di salvezza. Risuonano nelle orecchie di Diego le
parole del Signore nella sinagoga di Nazaret: “Evangelizzare pauperibus misit me”
(Lc 4, 18; Is 61, 1). Gesù sta alla porta e chiama: la sua
voce si fa ogni volta più chiara e insistente nel cuore generoso del giovane,
che si apre a Dio e decide di entrare nella Compagnia di Gesù, rinunciando al
brillante avvenire che le sue doti personali e la posizione sociale della sua
famiglia gli avrebbero procurato.
Nella preghiera e nel
raccoglimento, la sua anima contempla “Gesù che percorreva città e villaggi
predicando il Vangelo del Regno” (Mt 9, 35), chiede al Signore la grazia
di non essere “sordo alla sua chiamata, ma pronto e diligente per fare la sua
santissima volontà” (S. Ignazio di Loyola, Esercizi Spirituali, 91). Il
giovane religioso bussa alla porta dei suoi superiori perché lo inviino alle
missioni dell’Oriente, per predicare la buona novella di Cristo ai popoli che
ancora non lo conoscono.
Dopo un lungo e faticoso
viaggio verso l’Oriente, via Messico, giunse nelle Filippine, dove rimase per
cinque anni prima di essere inviato alle Isole Marianne. Nel giugno del 1668 il
padre San Vitores e i suoi compagni gesuiti raggiunsero l’arcipelago e si
stabilirono nell’isola di Guam, il centro della loro attività missionaria.
Il loro zelo apostolico e
la completa dedizione nei confronti di quelle popolazioni bisognose di una
promozione spirituale e umana, caratterizzarono gli anni di questo esemplare
missionario, che, imitando le parole del maestro - “nessuno ha amore più grande
di colui che sacrifica la propria vita per i suoi amici” (Gv 15, 13) -
versò il suo sangue in sacrificio, mentre chiedeva a Dio di dimenticare il nome
del responsabile della sua morte.
La vita di questo nuovo
beato si caratterizzò per una totale disponibilità ad accorrere là
dove Dio lo chiamava. Egli parla in tono attuale e urgente ai missionari di
oggi sull’atteggiamento aperto e preparato per rispondere alle esigenze
del mandato: “Andate per tutto il mondo e predicate il Vangelo a ogni creatura”
(Mc 16, 15).
Giovani che mi ascoltate,
o che riceverete questo messaggio: aprite il vostro cuore al Signore che
sta alla porta e chiama (cf. Ap 3, 20). Siate generosi come il
giovane Diego, che lasciando tutto si fece pellegrino e missionario in terre
lontane per dare testimonianza dell’amore di Dio per gli uomini.
5. José María Rubio
y Peralta, “l’apostolo di Madrid”. La sua vita di fedele seguace di Cristo ci
insegna che è l’atteggiamento docile e umile nei confronti dell’operare di Dio
ciò che fa progredire il cristiano sul cammino della perfezione e lo converte
in uno strumento di salvezza.
Sapete tutti come padre
Rubio esercitò dal confessionale e dal pulpito una grande attività apostolica.
Il suo squisito tatto di guida di anime gli faceva trovare il consiglio
adeguato, la parola giusta, la penitenza, a volte esigente, che durante gli
anni di paziente e silenziosa opera, crearono via via apostoli, uomini e donne
di ogni classe sociale, che divennero in molti casi suoi collaboratori nelle
opere assistenziali e di carità, da lui ispirate e dirette. Formò secolari
impegnati, ai quali amava ripetere la sua nota frase: “Bisogna avere slancio!”,
animandoli a farsi presenti come cristiani negli ambienti poveri ed emarginati
della periferia di Madri dagli inizi del secolo, dove egli creò scuole e si
prese cura dei malati, degli anziani e degli operai disoccupati.
Il suo dialogo assiduo
con Cristo, soprattutto nel sacramento dell’Eucaristia, e la sua devozione al
Sacro Cuore lo portarono all’intimità con il Signore e ai suoi stessi
sentimenti (cf. Fil 2, 5 ss.). Nell’esemplare traiettoria della sua
vita, questo illustre figlio di Sant’Ignazio si presenta all’uomo d’oggi come
un autentico “alter Christus”, un sacerdote che guarda il popolo dal punto di
vista di Dio e che per far ciò ha la virtù di comunicare al prossimo qualcosa
che è riservato a coloro che vivono in Cristo.
6. Il messaggio di
santità che il fratello Francisco Gárate Aranguren ci ha inviato è
semplice e chiaro, come fu semplice la sua vita di religioso sacrificato nella
portineria di un centro universitario di Duesto. Fin dalla giovinezza
Francisco spalancò il suo cuore a Cristo che batteva alla sua porta
invitandolo ad essere suo seguace fedele, suo amico. Come la Vergine Maria, che
amò teneramente come madre, rispose con generosità e fiducia senza limiti, alla
chiamata della grazia.
Fratello Gárate visse la
sua consacrazione religiosa come apertura radicale a Dio, al cui servizio e
gloria si offrì (cf. Lumen
gentium, 44) e da cui riceveva ispirazione e forza per dare testimonianza
di una grande bontà con tutti. Questo lo poterono confermare tante e tante
persone che passarono per la portineria del cosiddetto, affettuosamente,
“Fratello Delicatezze”, presso l’Università di Deusto: studenti, professori,
impiegati, padri dei giovani residenti, gente insomma di tutte le classi e le
condizioni, che notarono nel fratello Gárate la disposizione totale e
sorridente di chi ha il suo cuore legato a Dio.
Costui ci dà una testimonianza
concreta e attuale del valore della vita interiore come anima di
ogni forma di apostolato oltre che della consacrazione religiosa. In
verità quando ci si sta offrendo a Dio e si concentra in lui la propria vita, i
frutti apostolici non si fanno aspettare. Dalla portineria di una casa di
studi, questo fratello coadiutore gesuita rese presente la bontà di Dio
mediante la forza evangelizzatrice del suo servizio silenzioso e umile.
7. Che cosa dicono
alla Chiesa e al mondo attuale i tre beati che oggi esaltiamo e che la
liturgia chiama “querce di giustizia, piantate dal Signore per la sua gloria” (Is 61,
3)?
In epoche diverse, con
persone e in aree geografiche differenti, risposero prontamente all’invito di
Gesù che li chiamava all’intimità con lui. Con le loro vite
incentrate nell’amore di Dio, diedero, ciascuno a suo modo, testimonianza:
della disponibilità assoluta del missionario che giunge fino allo spargimento
di sangue, dell’opera paziente e delicata di guida delle coscienze e creatore
di apostoli, di servizio umile e silenzioso, nel compiere l’ufficio quotidiano.
8. Dirigiamo di nuovo il
nostro sguardo al “testimone fedele e verace” del libro dell’Apocalisse, che un
giorno si trattenne davanti alla porta di Ignazio di Loyola e chiamò. Attento
al passaggio del Signore, Ignazio gli aprì la porta del suo cuore. Con
questa risposta, il cuore di Gesù si convertì per lui in “fonte di vita e
santità”.
Oggi, come nei tempi
scorsi, la Chiesa eleva nuovamente all’onore dell’altare tre figli di
Sant’Ignazio. Che questo giorno solenne diventi in Gesù Cristo un nuovo
“principio della creazione di Dio” (Ap 3, 14). Che, in virtù di questo
“principio”, si rinnovi in ognuno dei membri della Compagnia di Gesù la
chiamata all’indivisibile servizio a Dio nella Chiesa e nel mondo, che il
vostro fondatore e padre espresse con quelle brevi parole: “Prendete, o
Signore, e ricevete tutta la mia libertà . . .” (S. Ignazio di Loyola, Esercizi
Spirituali, 234).
I nomi dei gesuiti Diego
Luis de San Vitores Alonso, José Maria Rubio y Peralta e Francisco Gárate
Aranguren, vengono oggi a sommarsi alla lunga e feconda storia di santità di
questa benemerita famiglia religiosa. Costoro, come il chicco di grano che cade
a terra e muore, diedero molti frutti. furono fecondi perché Dio fu al centro
della loro vita.
Che in tutta la vostra
comunità ignaziana si ravvivi con nuova forza la chiamata alla santità di cui
sono alti esempi i nuovi beati che oggi la Chiesa celebra come figli
prediletti.
Che per intercessione di
Maria, regina di tutti i santi, alla cui attenzione materna affido l’eredità di
santità con cui lo Spirito ci ha arricchiti, siano sempre più abbondanti i
frutti di pienezza di vita cristiana nella Chiesa.
© Copyright 1985 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Diego Luis de San Vitores
(1627-1672)
Beatificazione:
- 06 ottobre 1985
- Papa Giovanni
Paolo II
Ricorrenza:
- 2 aprile
Sacerdote della Compagnia
di Gesù, ucciso crudelmente in odio alla fede cristiana nell'isola di Guam
e buttato in mare da alcuni apostati e da alcuni indigeni seguaci di
superstizioni pagane
"Andate per tutto il
mondo e predicate il Vangelo a ogni creatura"
Di nobile famiglia
spagnola, Diego Luis de San Vitores Alonso nasce a Burgos (Spagna)
il 13 novembre 1627, ancora molto giovane, sente interiormente
una voce che lo attrae e insieme lo muove.
Si sente attratto da
Cristo, l’eterno inviato dal Padre per salvare gli uomini, che lo spinge ad
andare in terre lontane come strumento della sua missione di salvezza.
Risuonano nelle orecchie
di Diego le parole del Signore, la sua voce si fa ogni volta più chiara e
insistente nel cuore generoso del giovane, che si apre a Dio e decide di
entrare nella Compagnia di Gesù, rinunciando al brillante avvenire che le sue
doti personali e la posizione sociale della sua famiglia gli avrebbero
procurato.
Nella preghiera e nel
raccoglimento chiede al Signore la grazia di non essere “sordo alla sua
chiamata, ma pronto e diligente per fare la sua santissima volontà” (S. Ignazio
di Loyola, Esercizi Spirituali, 91). Il giovane religioso bussa alla porta
dei suoi superiori perché lo inviino alle missioni dell’Oriente, per predicare
la buona novella di Cristo ai popoli che ancora non lo conoscono.
Dopo un lungo e faticoso
viaggio verso l’Oriente, via Messico, giunse nelle Filippine, dove rimase per
cinque anni prima di essere inviato alle Isole Marianne. Nel giugno del 1668 il
padre San Vitores e i suoi compagni gesuiti raggiunsero l’arcipelago e si
stabilirono nell’isola di Guam, il centro della loro attività missionaria.
Il loro zelo apostolico e
la completa dedizione nei confronti di quelle popolazioni bisognose di una
promozione spirituale e umana, caratterizzarono gli anni di questo esemplare
missionario, che, imitando le parole del maestro - “nessuno ha amore più grande
di colui che sacrifica la propria vita per i suoi amici” (Gv 15, 13) -
versò il suo sangue in sacrificio, mentre chiedeva a Dio di dimenticare il nome
del responsabile della sua morte.
La sua vita si
caratterizzò per una totale disponibilità ad accorrere là dove Dio lo
chiamava.
Il 2 aprile 1672, assieme
al catechista filippino Pietro Calungsod, suo compagno di missione, fu
crudelmente assassinato e buttato in mare da alcuni indigeni seguaci di
superstizioni pagane.
SOURCE : https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/diego-luis-de-san-vitores.html
Por una real cédula de Felipe IV, el sacerdote jesuita
Luis de San Victores, obtuvo el permiso para evangelizar las islas de los
Ladrones en el archipiélago filipino. En el viaje acompañó al nuevo virrey de
Nueva España, don Juan de Leyba. Tuvo que detenerse dos años en Veracruz,
esperando un barco para Filipinas. Los aprovechó dando nueva vida a la
Congregación Mariana, que sólo existía de nombre.
En 1662 desembarcó en Lampon y se dirigieron a Manila.
Su primer destino fue Tay-Tay, donde aprendió el tagalo e hizo una gran labor
apostólica entre las aldeas y pueblos de los alrededores. Aprendió la lengua de
la isla de Los Ladrones, el chamorro, de la que hizo una gramática.
En 1668 fondeó con el catequista, san Pedro Calungsod,
en la ensenada de la isla de Guam. Las islas de los Ladrones, nuestro beato les
cambió el nombre y les puso el nombre actual de Las Marianas.
Fue muy bien recibido en las islas de los Ladrones, y
allí se encontró con dos náufragos: un español, Pedro, que llevaba 30 años y un
chino, llamado Choco. Se comenzó a organizar la misión y el avance fue
arrollador. Dos años después de inaugurada la iglesia principal de las islas
proyectaba construir un colegio para niños y otro para niñas. Se habían
visitado 180 pueblos y se habían bautizado 6.055. El Choco comenzó a encizañar
la misión de los jesuitas diciendo que el agua del bautismo que derramaban en
la cabeza de los niños les llevaba a la muerte. Todo esto tuvo el resultado que
en 1670, el padre Medina, que misionaba la isla de Saipán, cayó herido por una
lanza.
Dos caciques, Hirao y Kipuha, habían intentado matar a
dos de los padres. En 1672, el padre San Vitores se encontraba en Nisihan, uno
de los cuatro distritos misionales en que había dividido la isla de Guam. El
padre Francisco Solano, que estaba en el iglesia central de San Ignacio de
Agaña, quiso informarle de la llegada del padre Cardeñoso y le mandó el recado
con un joven español, Diego Bazán. Al pasar por el poblado de Chuchugú, Bazán
fue atacado por dos jóvenes y lo mataron. Luego se intentó quemar la misión
pero no pudieron. Al ver que el joven no llegaba, Solano envió a otros dos
emisarios, ambos filipinos, y un criollo que se unió a ellos: no pudieron
ponerse a salvo en la misión de San Ignacio de Egaña, como les había aconsejado
el padre San Vitores, porque fueron atacados por doscientos indígenas.
Diego de San Vitores fue martirizado por el
apóstata Mátapang en Tumhon, de la isla de Guam, Oceanía, por haber
bautizado a su hija sin permiso. Mátapang airado quiso matar al jesuita, pero
su catequista san Pedro se puso delante del misionero y una lanza le atravesó
el pecho, cayó el joven malherido y entonces, le dio la absolución el padre
Diego. Matapang se acercó al catequista y lo remató de un machetazo en la
cabeza y luego se dirigió al jesuita y junto con el cadáver de Pedro fueron
lanzados al mar; su muerte fue producto de una traición. Sus cuerpos nunca
fueron recuperados.
Al recibir las noticias, los compañeros de Pedro
dijeron: "¡Joven afortunado! ¡Qué bien recompensados fueron sus cuatro años
de servicio constante a Dios en esta misión tan difícil: ha ganado la primera
entrada al cielo a nuestro superior, Padre Diego!". San Vitores está
considerado el apóstol de la isla de Guam. El Padre Diego fue beatificado
por SS Juan Pablo II el 6 de octubre de 1985.
SOURCE : https://hagiopedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/beato-diego-luis-de-san-vitores-y-san.html
HOMILÍA DEL SANTO PADRE
JUAN PABLO II
Domingo 6 de octubre de 1985
1. “Ecco, sto alla porta
e busso” (Ap 3, 20).
Gesù Cristo, “il
testimone fedele e verace, il principio della creazione di Dio” (Ap 3, 14)
sta alla porta e bussa.
Gesù Cristo, colui
che il Padre, ha consacrato con l’unzione e ho mandato a portare il lieto
annunzio, a fasciare le piaghe dei cuori spezzati, a proclamare la libertà . .
.” (Is 61, 1).
Gesù Cristo, il
vero chicco di grano che, caduto in terra, è morto e produce molto
frutto (cf. Gv 12, 24).
Oggi anche noi siamo
chiamati a essere testimoni di questo frutto.
2. Gesù Cristo. Tutte le
letture dell’odierna liturgia parlano direttamente di lui, della sua persona e
del suo mistero.
Ecco, egli si è fermato
alla porta di quell’uomo, il cui nome era Ignazio di Loyola, e ha bussato
al suo cuore. Tutti ricordiamo quel bussare. La sua eco continua a risuonare
tuttora nella Chiesa diffusa nei cinque continenti.
Gesù Cristo, il testimone
fedele e verace. Un frutto di questa testimonianza fu l’uomo
nuovo nella storia di Ignazio di Loyola. E, in seguito, fu una grande
comunità nuova, la “Societas Iesu”, la Compagnia di Gesù.
Oggi siamo invitati a
ricordare i frutti dati da questa comunità nel corso di oltre quattro
secoli; con le opere nel campo dell’apostolato, delle missioni, della scienza,
dell’educazione, della pastorale.
Soprattutto i frutti
dovuti alla santità della vita dei figli spirituali del Santo di Loyola.
Oggi tra coloro che la
Chiesa ha elevato alla gloria degli altari, vengono aggiunti i tre servi
di Dio: Diego Luis de San Vitores, José María Rubio y Peralta e Francisco
Gárate.
3. Los tres nuevos Beatos
nacieron en España, Nación que tanto se ha distinguido en la propagación del
Evangelio y también por la vitalidad de su fe católica.
Diversas diócesis y
ciudades se honran por su vinculación con estos elegidos de Dios: Burgos es la
cuna del Padre San Vitores, el evangelizador de las Islas Marianas; el Padre
Rubio nació en Dalias (Almería) y ejerció su apostolado sobre todo en la
capital de España, siendo conocido como “el apóstol de Madrid”; el Hermano
Gárate es originario de un caserío en las inmediaciones del castillo de Loyola,
parroquia de Azpeitia (Guipúzcoa) y transcurrió la mayor parte de su vida en
Deusto (Bilbao).
¿Cuál es el mensaje de
estos tres Beatos al hombre de hoy?
Si nos fijamos en las
raíces más profundas de sus vidas, vemos que estos tres modelos de santidad
están como unidos por un elemento común: la apertura total y generosa a
Dios que les dice: “Mira que estoy a la puerta y llamo; si alguno escucha
mi voz y abre la puerta, yo entraré a él y cenaré con él y él conmigo” (Apoc.
3, 20). “Abrimos nuestra puerta para recibirlo cuando, al oír su voz, prestamos
libremente nuestro asentimiento a sus invitaciones manifiestas o veladas y nos
aplicamos con empeño a las tareas que El nos confía” (S. Bedae Venerabilis Hom.
21).
En efecto, la respuesta
de los tres Beatos pronta y generosa a la llamada de Dios aúna los aspectos
diversos, pero al mismo tiempo complementarios, de su vocación religiosa vivida
como miembros de la Compañía de Jesús.
4. Diego Luis de San
Vitores Alonso, siendo aún muy joven, oye en su interior una voz que lo atrae y
a la vez lo empuja. Se siente atraído por Cristo, el eterno enviado del Padre
para salvar a los hombres, el cual le impulsa a marchar a tierras lejanas como
instrumento de su misión salvadora. Resuenan en los oídos de Diego las palabras
del Señor en la sinagoga de Nazaret: “Evangelizare pauperibus misit me” (Luc.
4, 18; Is. 61, 1). Jesús está a la puerta y llama; su voz se hace
cada vez más clara e insistente en el corazón generoso del joven, que se abre a
Dios y decide entrar en la Compañía de Jesús, renunciando a un brillante
porvenir que sus dotes personales y la posición social de su familia le habrían
procurado.
En la oración y el
recogimiento, su alma contempla a “Jesús que recorría ciudades y aldeas
predicando el evangelio del Reino” (Matth. 9, 35), y suplica al Señor la gracia
de no ser “sordo a su llamamiento, mas presto y diligente para cumplir su
santísima voluntad” (S. Ignacio de Loyola, Ejercicios Espirituales, 91).
El joven religioso llama a la puerta de sus superiores para que le envíen a las
misiones de Oriente, a predicar la Buena Nueva de Cristo a los pueblos que aún
no le conocen.
After a long and
exhausting journey to the East, by way of Mexico, he reached the Philippines,
where he remained for five years before being sent to the Mariana Islands. In
June 1668 Father San Vitores and is Jesuit companions reached the archipelago
and established on the island of Guam the centre of their missionary activity.
His apostolic zeal and
complete dedication to those people in need of spiritual and human promotion
characterized the years of this exemplary missionary, who, in imitation of the
words of the Master “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends” (Jn. 15, 13), shed his blood in sacrifice, while asking
God to forgive those responsible for his death.
La vida de este nuevo
Beato se caracterizó por una total disponibilidad para acudir allá a
donde Dios lo llamara. El habla en tonos actuales y urgentes a los misioneros
de hoy sobre la actitud abierta y pronta para responder a las
exigencias del mandato: “Id por todo el mundo y predicad el Evangelio a toda
criatura” (Mc 16, 15).
Jóvenes que me escucháis,
o que recibiréis este mensaje: abrid vuestro corazón al Señor que está a
la puerta y llama (Cfr. Apoc. 3, 20). Sed generosos como el joven
Diego, que abandonándolo todo se hizo peregrino y misionero en tierras lejanas
para dar testimonio del amor de Dios a los hombres.
5. José María Rubio
y Peralta, “el apóstol de Madrid”. Su vida de fiel seguidor de Cristo nos
enseña que es la actitud dócil y humilde a la acción de Dios lo que hace
progresar al cristiano por los caminos de la perfección y lo convierte en un
instrumento eficaz de salvación.
Todos sabéis cómo el
Padre Rubio ejerció desde el confesionario y el púlpito una gran actividad
apostólica. Su exquisito tacto de director de almas le hacía encontrar el
consejo adecuado, la palabra justa, la penitencia, a veces exigente, que durante
años de paciente y callada labor, fueron forjando apóstoles, hombres y mujeres
de toda clase social, que vinieron a ser en muchos casos sus colaboradores en
las obras asistenciales y de caridad inspiradas y dirigidas por él. Fue un
formador de seglares comprometidos a quienes él gustaba repetir su conocida
frase: “¡Hay que lanzarse!”, animándoles a hacerse presentes como cristianos en
los ambientes pobres y marginados de la periferia de Madrid de principios de
siglo, donde él creó escuelas y atendió a enfermos, ancianos y a obreros sin
trabajo.
Su trato asiduo con
Cristo, particularmente en el sacramento de la Eucaristía, y su devoción al
Sagrado Corazón, le fueron introduciendo en la intimidad del Señor y en sus
mismos sentimientos (Cfr. Flp 2, 5 ss.). En la ejemplar trayectoria
de su vida, este preclaro hijo de San Ignacio se presenta al hombre de hoy como
un auténtico “alter Christus”, un sacerdote que mira al prójimo desde Dios
y que posee por ello la virtud de comunicar a los demás algo que está reservado
a quienes viven en Cristo.
6. El mensaje de santidad
que el Hermano Francisco Gárate Aranguren nos ha legado es sencillo y
límpido, como sencilla fue su vida de religioso inmolado en la portería de un
centro universitario de Deusto. Desde su juventud, Francisco abrió de par
en par su corazón a Cristo que llamaba a su puerta invitándolo a ser su
seguidor fiel, su amigo. Como la Virgen María, a quien amó tiernamente como
madre, respondió con generosidad y confianza sin límites a la llamada de la
gracia.
El Hermano Gárate vivió
su consagración religiosa como apertura radical a Dios, a cuyo servicio y
gloria se entregó (Cfr. Lumen
gentium, 44), y de donde recibía inspiración y fuerza para dar testimonio
de una gran bondad con todos. Así lo pudieron confirmar tantas y tantas
personas que pasaron por la portería del cariñosamente llamado “Hermano
Finuras”, en la Universidad de Deusto: estudiantes, profesores, empleados,
padres de los jóvenes residentes, gentes en fin de toda clase y condición, que
vieron en el Hermano Gárate la actitud acogedora y sonriente de quien tiene su
corazón anclado en Dios.
El nos da un testimonio
concreto y actual del valor de la vida interior como alma de todo
apostolado y también de la consagración religiosa. En efecto, cuando se
está entregado a Dios y en El se centra la propia vida, los frutos apostólicos
no se hacen esperar. Desde la portería de una casa de estudios, este Hermano
coadjutor jesuita hizo presente la bondad de Dios mediante la fuerza
evangelizadora de su servicio callado y humilde.
7. ¿Qué dicen a la
Iglesia y al mundo actual los tres Beatos que hoy ensalzamos y a los que
la liturgia llama “robles de justicia, plantados para gloria del Señor”? (Is.
61, 3)
En épocas distintas y con
personas y en geografías diferentes, ellos respondieron prontamente a la
invitación de Jesús que los llamaba a su intimidad. Con sus vidas
centradas en el amor de Dios, dieron, cada uno a su modo, testimonio: de la
disponibilidad absoluta del misionero incluso hasta el derramamiento de sangre,
de la labor paciente y delicada del director de conciencias y formador de
apóstoles, de servicio humilde y callado, cumpliendo el deber cotidiano.
8. Volvamos de nuevo
nuestra mirada al “testigo fiel y veraz” del libro del Apocalipsis, que un día
se detuvo ante la puerta de Ignacio de Loyola y llamó. Atento al paso del
Señor, Ignacio le abrió la puerta de su corazón. Con esta respuesta,
el corazón de Jesús se convirtió para él en “fuente de vida y santidad”.
Hoy, como en tiempos
pasados, la Iglesia eleva nuevamente al honor de los altares a tres hijos de
San Ignacio. Que este día solemne venga a ser en Jesucristo un nuevo “principio
de la creación de Dios” (Ap 3, 14). Que, en virtud de este “principio”, se
renueve en cada uno de los miembros de la Compañía de Jesús la llamada al
inseparable servicio a Dios en la Iglesia y en el mundo que vuestro Fundador y
Padre expresó con aquellas concisas palabras: “Tomad, Señor, y recibid toda mi
libertad . . .” (S. Ignacio de Loyola, Ejercicios Espirituales, 234).
Los nombres de los
jesuitas Diego Luis de San Vitores Alonso, José María Rubio y Peralta y
Francisco Gárate Aranguren vienen hoy a sumarse a la larga y fecunda historia
de santidad de esta benemérita familia religiosa. Ellos, como el grano de trigo
que cae en la tierra y muere, dieron mucho fruto. Fueron fecundos porque Dios
fue el centro de sus vidas.
Que en toda vuestra
comunidad ignaciana se reavive con nueva fuerza la llamada a la santidad de la
que son eximios ejemplos los nuevos Beatos que hoy la Iglesia ensalza como
hijos predilectos.
Que por intercesión de
María, Reina de todos los Santos, a cuyo cuidado maternal confío la herencia de
santidad con que el Espíritu nos ha enriquecido, sean cada vez más abundantes
los frutos de plenitud de vida cristiana en la Iglesia.
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Beato Diego Luis de San
Vitores
Biografía
San Vitores, Diego Luis
de. Burgos, 12.XI.1627 – Tumón Guam, Islas Marianas (Estados Unidos de
América), 2.IV.1672. Misionero jesuita (SI), mártir y beato.
Su padre era procurador
en Cortes por su ciudad natal, que era Burgos. Su formación transcurrió en el
Colegio Imperial de Madrid desde 1638, llegando a ser prefecto de la
Congregación mariana y consiliario después. Su actividad en fechas posteriores
no se conoce, pues las páginas de los libros de actas que contenían su firma,
fueron arrancadas como deseo de reliquia. Su confesor fue el prefecto de
estudios, el padre Diego Ramírez, el cual fue autor de un relato inédito bajo
el título “Niñez, pretensión y entrada en la Compañía de Jesús, Diego Luis d
Sanvitores”. Precisamente, a su nombre de pila sumó el de “Luis”, ante la
devoción que demostraba para con el beato Luis Gonzaga —éste no fue canonizado
hasta diciembre de 1726—. Su entrada en la Compañía de Jesús no resultó fácil,
pues era muy joven y, además, su padre se oponía a ello, considerando que era
conveniente que se alejase de la influencia de los jesuitas. Diego Luis se
resistió a estos gestos, se escapó de su casa y volvió al Colegio de la
Compañía, hasta que inició su período de probación o noviciado —había entrado
en Madrid en julio del polémico año de 1640—. Era tanto su deseo de
mortificación, que el maestro de novicios le tuvo que llamar a la moderación.
La edad le impidió pronunciar los votos simples y tuvo que esperar un año hasta
hacerlo. En el Colegio conquense de Huete, realizó el juniorado, entre 1642 y
1644; la formación filosófica, ya en Alcalá de Henares, entre 1644 y 1647,
continuando en esa misma localidad con las disciplinas propias de la Teología,
entre 1647 y 1651. La tercera probación la realizó en Villarejo de las Fuentes,
igualmente en la actual provincia de Cuenca, aunque dentro de la administración
jesuítica a la que pertenecían todas estas casas, que era la de Toledo.
Su dimensión docente
comenzó en el Colegio de Oropesa, aunque tuvo que trasladarse a Madrid, donde
habría de ser ayudante en 1654 del padre Jerónimo López, en el desarrollo de
las misiones rurales. De aquél aprendió a ser un operario efectivo,
especialmente en la predicación de la doctrina cristiana y en el desarrollo del
“acto de contrición”. En realidad, las misiones populares fueron un adecuado
ensayo metodológico para futuras experiencias de vanguardia evangelizadora.
Trabajó, también, con el que después fue prepósito general de la Compañía,
Tirso González, entonces profesor en Salamanca y dedicado parcialmente a
misionar en estas “Indias de acá”. Al mismo tiempo, continuaba desarrollando su
dimensión docente, con las disciplinas propias de las humanidades en 1655, de
nuevo en el Colegio de Alcalá, alternándolo con el desarrollo de estrategias
apostólicas. Expuso su deseo de tornar de camino y marchar a las misiones,
atraído por las cartas de Francisco Javier. Inicialmente, sus superiores se lo
prohibieron, aunque el 2 de enero de 1660 le otorgaban el permiso pertinente.
Ya en ese verano se encontraba en la Ciudad de México, tierra por la que habría
de pasar si quería continuar trayectoria hacia su destino final, en Filipinas.
Sin embargo, habría de permanecer dos años en México, ante el retraso que los
transportes ocasionaban. No estuvo de brazos cruzados en aquella tierra, pues
continuó su apostolado por predicaciones y prácticas, además de por la
publicación —aunque bajo pseudónimo— de “El apóstol de las Indias”.
El 10 de julio de 1662
ponía sus pies en tierra de Filipinas, en Lampón, aunque inició camino hacia
Manila. La travesía le condujo hasta el puerto de Guam, siendo aquél su primer
contacto con un pueblo que no se encontraba evangelizado. Otros dos años habría
de permanecer como operario en la misión de Taytay, siendo después —en 1664—
prefecto de estudios en el Colegio de Manila. Entonces, continuaba el debate
acerca de la permanencia de los jesuitas en las doctrinas. Pensaba San Vitores
que la ocupación en cura de almas provocaba la decadencia de la vanguardia
evangelizadora. Siguiendo el modelo de trabajo de Francisco Javier, defendía la
realización de misiones itinerantes —él que había sido misionero popular—.
Pensaba que era menester mantener un equilibrio entre la consolidación de las
comunidades cristianas y el avance de la evangelización, ante la existencia de
espacios totalmente desérticos de esta presencia cristiana.
Sin embargo, aquella
escala en Guam le había cautivado. Por eso, se dirigió por carta al prepósito
general Gosvino Nickel, expresando su deseo de llevar el Evangelio a aquellas
tierras que lo desconocían y que eran las que se llamarán islas Marianas,
después de haberlas conocidos como “de los Ladrones”. Las autoridades civiles
de Filipinas se negaron a cooperar con estas intenciones, pero Diego Luis de
San Vitores se valió de las influencias de su padre en la Corte madrileña para
conseguir la aprobación real, dándose licencia para la misión propiamente
dicha, el 24 de junio de 1665. En aquellas grandes distancias, San Vitores
habría de salir de Filipinas en 1667, para recalar en el puerto mexicano de
Acapulco. Se iniciaba una nueva expedición que habría de estar formada por seis
jesuitas: además de él, la integraron Tomás Cardeñoso, Pedro de Casanova, Luis
de Medina, Luis de Morales, así como el escolar —un jesuita en formación
intelectual— Lorenzo Bustillo. Desembarcaron en Agaña, en la isla de Guam, el
16 de junio de 1668.
Si querían desarrollar la
evangelización con eficacia, debían contar con los conocimientos lingüísticos
necesarios. Para ello, se valió de un filipino que había naufragado en Guam.
Gracias a él, pudo traducir las oraciones más frecuentes, llegando a escribir
además una gramática para aquella lengua. Era el habitual paso de codificación
lingüística, necesaria para facilitar su enseñanza. Los habitantes de aquellas
tierras no se resistieron a la nueva fe, aunque un chino que tenía cierta
influencia sobre ellos afirmó con rotundidad que el agua del bautismo
ocasionaba la muerte de los que la recibían. Este gesto ocasionó violencia
hacia los misioneros y dos de ellos fueron heridos por los indios.
Posteriormente, ese chino, que recibió el nombre de Choco, llegó a solicitar
incluso las aguas bautismales. A pesar de todas las dificultades, a fines de
1669 los misioneros podrían haber realizado trece mil bautizados y veinte mil
catecúmenos. Cuando se conocían tres islas —Guam, Saipan y Tinian—, los
trabajos apostólicos favorecieron nuevos descubrimientos geográficos, con la
aparición de nuevas islas.
El apoyo de la Monarquía
—entonces la Corona se hallaba sobre la cabeza taciturna de Carlos II—
posibilitó la apertura del Colegio de San Juan de Letrán, destinado a los
jóvenes, una adecuada infraestructura para generar las vocaciones indígenas.
San Vitores como fundador de la viceprovincia de las Marianas, en la parte del
océano Pacífico que fue surcada por los castellanos, debía contar con
auxiliares seglares, los cuales compartían la metodología misionera de los
jesuitas. La empresa tenía que estar adecuadamente organizada, con presencia de
jesuitas filipinos de diferentes etnias, además de soldados, músicos y
constructores para las edificaciones.
Una pertinaz sequía rescató las viejas creencias de los indios. El misionero jesuita se arriesgó a prometerles la lluvia si volvían sus ojos al Dios de los cristianos. El fenómeno atmosférico dio la razón a San Vitores, lo que fue muy mal recibido por los hechiceros, los “macanas”, los cuales contemplaban cómo perdían cada vez más, autoridad e influencia entre el pueblo. Todo ello favoreció actitudes violentas hacia los españoles y los misioneros, existiendo ya víctimas, hasta la supuesta paz de octubre de 1671. San Vitores empezó a visitar, en tiempo de mayor tranquilidad, cada una de las aldeas de Guam, dividiendo la isla en cuatro distritos misionales. Pero el ambiente pacífico se caracterizaba por la fragilidad. Los hechiceros echaron mano de aquel chino conocido como Choco y que había mostrado hasta su supuesta conversión hostilidad para con los españoles. Este misionero jesuita se percató de lo delicado de la situación y pidió al resto de los religiosos y a sus ayudantes seglares, que se reuniesen en su residencia en Agaña. Todo ello favorecería su seguridad. Esto no era incompatible con la denuncia de huida que había hecho ante los misioneros que abandonaban a los fieles cuando la situación se ponía peligrosa, fomentando esta actitud la posterior apostasía. Las víctimas se iban sucediendo entre los soldados allí destinados o los ayudantes seglares de los misioneros. El riesgo se hallaba en las situaciones de soledad. Una de ellas fue la que se le planteó a San Vitores cuando regresaba a Agaña de visitar una parroquia del norte de Guam. Fue entonces cuando se encontró con una madre que deseaba bautizar a una niña recién nacida, en peligro inminente de muerte. El padre, sin embargo, se negaba a esa conversión y, lleno de cólera, asesinó a Diego Luis de San Vitores y a su compañero seglar, llamado Pedro Calangsor. Ha sido incluido en los mártires y víctimas en Micronesia. En tiempos mucho más recientes, el papa Juan Pablo II reconoció la heroicidad de sus virtudes, beatificándolo el 6 de octubre de 1985.
Obras de ~: Memorial al serenísimo señor don Jvan de Austria, Gran Prior de la Orden de San Juan en los Reinos de Castilla y León [...] en rason de la grande conveniencia del Voto de la Inmaculada Concepción de nuestra Señora en la Esclarecida Orden de San Juan y en los Exercitos Católicos del Rey nuestro Señor. Singularmente en estos tiempos para desquitarse la piedad Cristiana de los enormes desacatos de los Hereges, que entre los enemigos que inuaden el Principado de Cataluña y señaladamente el Santísimo Sacramento del Altar, Madrid, por Pablo del Val, 1655; Casos raros de la Confesión, México, 1660; El Apostol de las Indias y nuevas gentes San Francisco Xavier de la Compañía de Iesvs. Epítome de svs apostolicos hechos, virtudes, enseñanza y prodigios antiguos y nuevos, México, Imprenta de Agustín de Santistevan y Francisco Lupercio, 1661; Harmonica gverra y marcial cythara qve la Muy Illvstre Congregación y Concordia de el Grande Apostol de las Indias el Señor San Francisco Xavier declara y propone á todos los Fieles, para que gozen de la gloria de el lauro, triunfando contra el infierno en la Corona de el Nombre inuictissimo y Dulcísimo de Jesús: dando con ella, por todo el año, incessable Batalla al Demonio, en las Horas que se les distribuirán á los que de su voluntad las pidieren, México, Imprenta Francisco Rodríguez Lupercio, 1665; Carta á la Congregación de San Francisco Javier de México, escrita en Acapulco á 23 de enero de 1668, México, 1668; Memorial qve el P. Diego Lvys de Sanvitores, Religioso de la Compañía de Iesus, Rector de las Islas Marianas remitió a la Congregación del glorioso Apostol de las Indias San Francisco Xavier de la Ciudad de México, pidiendo le ayuden y socorran para la fundacion de la Misión de dichas Islas, México, por Francisco Rodríguez Lupercio, 1669; Noticias de los progressos de nuestra Santa Fe, en las Islas Marianas, llamadas antes de los Ladrones y de el fruto que han hecho en ellas el padre Diego Luis de Sanvitores y sus compañeros de la Compañía de Iesus desde 15 de mayo de 1669 hasta 28 de abril de 1670, sacadas de las Cartas que ha escrito el padre Diego Luis de Sanvitores y sus compañeros, s. f.; Arte y Vocabulario de la lengua de las Islas Marianas; Casos raros de Confesión [...]; “I. Marinae Linguae Institutionum Praeludium. II. Marianae Linguae Exercitationes [praxis catequética]”, ed. E. J. Burrus, Anthropos 49 (1954), págs. 934-960.
Bibl.: A. de Ledesma, Noticias de los Progressos de nuestra santa Fe en las Islas Marianas, Madrid, 1670; J. Vidal Figueroa, Relación de la dichosa muerte del Venerable Padre Diego Luis de Sanvitores, México, 1675; F. García, Vida y martirio del Venerable Padre Diego Luis de Sanvitores, de la Compañía de Jesús, primer apóstol de las Islas Marianas y sucesos destas Islas, Madrid, por Ivan García Infanzón, 1683; C. Sommervogel, Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jesús, vol. VII, Bruxelles, O. Schepens, 1896, págs. 615-618; A. Risco, En las islas de los Ladrones. El apóstol de las Marianas, Bilbao, Cultura Misional, 1935; J. Simón Díaz, Historia del Colegio Imperial de Madrid, vol. I, Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Estudios Madrileños, 1952; J. S. Arcilla, “San Vitores, Diego Luis”, en Ch. O’Neill y J. M.ª Domínguez, Diccionario Histórico de la Compañía de Jesús, vol. IV, Roma-Madrid, Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu, Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, 2001, págs. 3484-3485; J. Burrieza Sánchez, Jesuitas en Indias, entre la utopía y el conflicto, Valladolid, Universidad, 2007.
Javier Burrieza Sánchez
SOURCE : https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/15602/beato-diego-luis-de-san-vitores
Den salige Diégo Aloisius
de San Vitores (1627-1672)
Minnedag:
2. april
Diégos far arbeidet i
kongens tjeneste, så derfor måtte familien ofte bytte bosted. De flyttet i 1631
fra Burgos til Madrid, i 1635 til Guadix ved Granada og så i 1638 tilbake til
Madrid. Faren ble til slutt en av ministrene ved det kongelige skattkammer
(«finansdepartementet»). Diégo fikk i to år sin utdannelse hos jesuittene
på Colegio Imperial i Madrid. Allerede som elleveåring ville han i
1638 slutte seg til jesuittordenen (Societas Iesu – SJ), men det var
umulig for provinsialen å etterkomme dette ønsket. I tillegg ville foreldrene
at han skulle satse på en politisk karriere og ikke gjemmes bort i et kloster.
Faren gikk så langt at han sendte Diégo til en venns hus hvor gutten ble voktet
i tre uker av frykt for at han skulle rømme til jesuittenes novisiat.
Men Diégo var fast
overbevist om at hans plass var i ordenen, så han tryglet uopphørlig, og til
slutt ga foreldrene sin tillatelse. Da sa faren at han hadde å vokse i
hellighet og bli en god jesuitt, ellers kunne han ikke lenger kalle seg hans
sønn. Diégo var bare tretten år gammel da han sluttet seg til jesuittenes
novisiat i Villarejo de Fuentes ved Cuenca den 30. juli 1640. Etter to år i
novisiatet var han enda ikke seksten år gammel og fortsatt for ung til å
avlegge sine løfter, så han måtte tilbringe et tredje år i novisiatet og
fortsette sine studier i humaniora i Huete før løfteavleggelsen. Fra 1644 til
1646 studerte han filosofi og fra 1646 til 1650 teologi, begge deler i Alcalá
de Henares. Han ble presteviet den 23. desember 1651, bare 24 år gammel, noe
som er svært ungt hos jesuittene.
Han hadde helt fra
barndommen drømt om å arbeide i utenlandsmisjonen, om mulig i Kina eller Japan,
men i stedet måtte han undervise, først i allmennfag i ett år i Oropesa i
Toledo og deretter i teologi for de unge jesuittene i Madrid. I 1655 ble han
overført til Alcalá de Henares for å undervise i filosofi. Kort etter sin
ankomst ble han involvert i brorskapet for Vår Frue, og han fikk medlemmene til
å besøke sykehus, trøste de syke, re opp senger og koste gulv. All fritid
brukte han til å gi sognemisjoner i forstedene.
Først i slutten av 1659
utnevnte jesuittenes general, p. Goswin Nickel, Diégo til misjonen, ikke til
Kina eller Japan, men til Filippinene. Hans halvbror Juan, som også var
jesuitt, hadde dødd noen år tidligere mens han pleide de syke om bord på et
skip til India, så Diégos familie, spesielt faren, var ikke lykkelig ved utsikten
til at en annen sønn forlot Spania til Østen for aldri å vende tilbake igjen,
men han aksepterte avgjørelsen med resignasjon. Hans siste bønn til sin sønn
var å la ham få malt et bilde av ham for å ha som minne.
Diégo seilte fra Cádiz i
Spania den 15. mai 1660. Han reiste via Mexico, og han kom til Veracruz den 28.
juli. Han reiste videre til Mexico By (Ciudad de México), og siden han ikke
kunne komme seg til Filippinene med en gang, engasjerte han seg i misjonen og
forkynte på gatene som han hadde gjort i Alcalá. I Mexico gjorde han så sterkt
inntrykk på sine medbrødre at de begynte å sammenligne ham med ordenens store
misjonær, den hellige Frans Xavier.
Etter atten måneder med
tålmodig venting dro han og tretten andre jesuitter fra Acapulco den 5. april
1662. Sør for Japan gjorde skipet et opphold for å ta om bord forsyninger på
øygruppen Marianene, som inkluderer øyene Guam, Saipan og Rota. Der ble Diégo
slått av det faktum at selv 150 år etter at Magellán oppdaget øyene, hadde
innbyggerne aldri vært evangelisert. Han skrev til sine overordnede i Roma og
Spania og ba om tillatelse til å arbeide på Guam, og han beskrev den smerte han
følte ved å se innbyggerne vanskjøttet på denne måten.
I mellomtiden slo han seg
ned på Filippinene, hvor han ankom den 10. juli 1662. De neste tre månedene
tilbrakte han med å studere tagalog, landets språk, og straks han snakket det
tilstrekkelig flytende, ble han novisemester og studieprefekt ved universitetet
i Manila. Men akademiske plikter holdt ham ikke borte fra pastoralt arbeid. I
løpet av sine fem år på Filippinene arbeidet han ikke bare i Manila, men var
også misjonær i det indre av Luzon og på øya Mindoro.
Diégo trengte kongelig
tillatelse for å arbeide på Marianene, og den 18. juli 1664 skrev han til kong
Filip IV (1621-65) og foreslo at det ble startet en misjon der. Ikke bare ga
kongen sin tillatelse i juni 1666, men han utnevnte også p. Diégo til leder for
misjonen. Samtidig fikk misjonen økonomisk støtte fra kongens mor, enkedronning
Mariana, som siden fikk øyene oppkalt etter seg. Diégo dro tilbake til Mexico
for å treffe visekongen og samle penger og forsyninger for sitt arbeid på Guam,
som den gangen tilhørte bispedømmet Cebu på Filippinene. Han forlot Manila den
7. august 1667, kom til Acapulco i januar 1668 og dro straks til visekongen.
Etter å ha fått kongelig autorisasjon forlot han Acapulco igjen den 23. mars
1668.
Om bord på gallionen San
Diégo kom han endelig til den nye misjonsmarken Guam den 16. juni 1668 sammen
med en gruppe på fem andre jesuitter, blant dem fire prester. Takket være en
skipbrudden spanjol som hadde bodd der siden 1638 og var venner med høvdingene
på øya, fikk misjonærene en varm velkomst. P. Diégo erstattet øyenes tidligere
navn, Islas de los Ladrones, med Islas Marianas. Han ga også de ulike øyene i
øygruppen navn etter helgener, og Guam fikk navnet Isla de San Juan. Han valgte
den viktigste byen på øya som sitt hovedkvarter og kalte den St. Ignatius de
Agadña. Den første kirken på Guam, katedralbasilikaen Dulce Nombre de María,
ble bygd i 1669. Den ble ødelagt under Andre Verdenskrig, men i 1955 ble det
reist en ny katedral på samme sted.
I begynnelsen gikk
misjonsarbeidet bra, og et stort antall av innbyggerne mottok dåpen. På mindre
enn et år ble 6 055 mennesker døpt bare på Guam, og sammen med nydøpte på
de andre øyene var det 13 289 innbyggere som var vunnet for den kristne
tro, noe som var 25 % av den samlede befolkningen. Diégo etablerte Colegio
de San Juan de Letran, forløperen for Det kongelige kollegiet, for utdannelse
av lovende unge innfødte, og han satte det under sine medbrødres ledelse.
Men så vokste motstanden
blant de lokale lederne for de innfødte chamorros, ettersom de fryktet å
miste innflytelse, og det fantes også motstand mot de spanske koloniherrene, så
de nye kristne kom under press for å oppgi sin tro. I 1670 kom det for første
gang til blodsutgytelse, og den 29. januar 1670 ble en av p. Diégos beste
medarbeidere, p. Luis de Medina, myrdet på Saipan, den første jesuitten som
døde på Marianene. Men misjonen var beskyttet av den spanske makten og styrket
av flere medarbeidere, så i 1671 var antallet døpte allerede kommet opp i
30 000. De ble sjelesørgerisk betjent av fem kirker på ulike øyer.
P. Diégo var den drivende
kraften i evangeliseringen. En del av hans arbeid var å besøke de andre øyene
for å oppmuntre sine misjonærkolleger. Som den eneste fra misjonsstasjonen dro
p. Diégo på en skjebnesvanger reise til landsbyen Tumon på Guam, ledsaget av den
attenårige salige filippinske legkateketen Peter Calungsod.
Den lokale høvdingen Matapang var en frafallen kristen som la presten for hat
fordi han døpte nyfødte barn. Om morgenen den 2. april 1672 døpte p. Diégo
Matapangs datter, som var brakt til pateren av Matapangs hustru i strid med
høvdingens ønske. Dette gjorde Matapang så rasende at han spurte en viss Hirao
om å hjelpe ham med å drepe presten.
Prosessen for Diégos
saligkåring ble innledet i Manila i 1677 og i Toledo i Spania i 1688. Nesten
300 år senere, den 6. oktober 1985, ble p. Diégo Luis de San Vitores saligkåret
av den salige pave Johannes Paul II (1978-2005)
i Roma som Marianenes protomartyr. Grunnen til at ikke Pedro Calungsod ble
saligkåret samtidig, var at undersøkelsene om ham knapt var kommet i gang, og
det var et ønske å få gjennomført saligkåringen av p. Diégo innen et viktig
kirkelig jubileum på Guam på Marianene. Pedro Calungsod ble saligkåret den 5.
mars 2000 av pave Johannes Paul II.
Diégos minnedag er
dødsdagen 2. april. Jesuittene feirer ham den 6. oktober. Spanjolene hadde
herredømmet over Marianene fra 1565 til 1898. Øygruppen fikk sitt navn i 1668
etter dronning Mariana av Østerrike, som fortsatte å støtte misjonen etter kong
Filip IV av Spanias død i 1665. Navnet Diégo er en forvanskning av Iago, den
spanske formen for Jakob, og det er først i nyere tid det er latinisert til
Didacus.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (IV), Tylenda, Holböck (2), Resch (B1), Index99,
Arevalo, santiebeati.it, en.wikipedia.org, Abbaye Saint-Benoît, bisitaguam.com,
guam-online.com, micsem.org, Pedro Calungsods biografi - Kompilasjon og
oversettelse: Per
Einar Odden
Opprettet: 24. februar
2004
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/davitores
Voir aussi : https://archagana.org/diego
https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=62078516-921e-4ac8-897f-fdc0f1e9fcca
